All Along The Watchtower
by Alex Beckett
Summary: Melissa has more secrets than people realize, or even give her credit for. Some of them are little, but some of them are so big that they could eat her alive if she isn't careful enough. It's just too bad that nobody realizes that she could take everyone down with her. If she wanted to.
1. Chapter 1

**I've never done fanfiction for Pretty Little Liars before, but I've been watching faithfully since the pilot ;) this idea I have here just wouldn't leave me alone, so I just had to publish it; bear with me! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything here, except for what or whom I dream up. **

* * *

Melissa Josephine Hastings hadn't always been governed by her secrets.

No, there had been a time when she was actually innocent. Melissa remembered that era—as she referred to it, with nostalgia—it only made her sad now, so she just tucked those memories away into the back of her mind.

She had other things to worry about.

New secrets, and some of them were almost as heavy as her original secret. There were also some secrets Melissa had that were good.

No, strike that—there were three secrets she had that were good.

The last thing she wanted, though, was A or Mona finding out and using them against her.

Melissa felt a little silly that she was afraid of a teenage girl, but there was no denying that Mona was more than a little unhinged. It also didn't help that Melissa had known Mona for her entire life because she'd babysat her for years and years, thus being able to watch the girl grow up and see her develop a very high level IQ that came to rival Melissa's own. The scariest thing that Melissa bore witness to was Mona honing her ability to hide her truer, darker personality.

A, on the other hand, knew full well of Melissa's original secret and had used that as blackmail to force Melissa into joining the 'A Army.' Melissa was a reluctant participant, but she'd recently decided—even though it was a fool's—that she was going to start trying to take A down. She had no idea who A even was, other than a hooded figure in a black, but enough was enough.

It was time for Melissa to break free of A's puppet strings.

By any means necessary.

* * *

"I told you that bringing home a sick baby was a bad idea, Wren."

"Sade's three, Melissa—she's a toddler now, and she isn't just any 'sick baby' because she's _ours. _England was just too far away, and my parents couldn't keep her forever. They're getting old."

"That's true." Melissa sighed in defeat. "I just wish that she could have stayed in London until she got over this cold…"

"So do I, but if we'd stayed in London, even for Sade, we would have never left. That would be depriving the others of part of the family.

Melissa turned to look out the window of their car. "Just drive."

* * *

Melissa's and Wren's relationship went back further than most people really knew—ten years, in fact.

They consummated it a few years in, and three years ago, Melissa gave birth to hers and Wren's little girl, Sade Veronica Elspeth Hastings-Kingston.

Melissa and Wren adored their little girl, and wanted to give her everything, but scared that the rest of Melissa's family—especially Peter—would look down on her for having a baby out of wedlock, Sade was born in London, under the radar.

Wren's parents, who were the complete opposite of Peter and Veronica Hastings, offered to keep Sade and take guardianship of her until it was alright to bring her to Rosewood, no matter how long it took.

It hurt like hell to leave Sade, but when the whole Jenna Thing started, Melissa and Wren felt it was the safest and wisest option, after all. They visited as often as they could and they also did everything they could to provide for Sophia, like sending money to Wren's parents to pay for things like new clothes, shoes, toys, and medical expenses. They also sent lots of care packages, and every Christmas of Sade's life thus far, they always went to visit her.

In recent months, however, Mister and Missus Kingston had fallen on hard times, health-wise. Although Patrick and Elspeth had always been very fit and were in retirement, he had just had a massive stroke, and her memory was on a very slippery downward slope, thanks to a newly diagnosed case of Alzheimer's Disease, forcing them to move into a local around-the-clock nursing home.

* * *

Wren and Melissa moved back to London for a short while to sort things out, and it was during this time that they'd truly gotten to know Sade better and also find out two new very important things.

The first one was that Sade had been diagnosed with high-functioning autism. The little girl had been 'off-kilter' since she was a tiny baby, what with not hitting most of her key milestones until well after most babies did. She also knew how to talk, but would pick and choose when she did.

Melissa and Wren didn't know what to make of it, but she was their daughter and they were going to do everything they could to help her.

The other important thing they found out while they were in London was that Melissa was pregnant again.

Yes, their lives were by no means easy—especially where the rest of the Hastings Clan, and Alison, Aria, Emily, Hanna, and even Toby and Jason were all concerned—but they had to make it work.

They had to. For the sake of their little family.

* * *

"How much longer until we get to the house?"

Wren glanced in the rear view mirror Melissa, who had been in the backseat since they'd left the airport. She'd just given up on a battle of trying to wipe the crusted mucus of Sade's runny nose off her little face. Content that she was no longer being touched, Sade was facing away from her mother, looking out of her own window. Melissa was happy with that arrangement because she didn't have the energy to deal with it.

"About fifteen minutes. Can't hold up?"

"Bingo. The baby is making me nauseas, and I'm scared that Sade will vomit first if I don't."

"Shall we go to your parents' house and have a rest in the barn? We're almost to your parents' neighborhood, anyway."

"Okay, sure." Melissa began massaging her temples, feeling a headache forming. "I know this is far from how we wanted everyone to find out about Sade and the baby, but I'm so out of it right now. I could probably sleep for the rest of the day."

"Hang tight, love."

Melissa fell asleep for a short bit, only to be woken up by Wren, telling her that they'd arrived. Melissa found herself wondering how she was able to follow Wren and Sade into the house when she was all of a sudden feeling more awful than she could even remember feeling during her previous pregnancy with her angel baby, Taylor. She didn't even stress out when Wren pointed out that they had to go through the house to get to the barn, or that Veronica's and Spencer's cars were both in the driveway, meaning that they were both home.

* * *

They didn't see Veronica when they entered the house, but they did find Spencer in the kitchen and she was in the process of hyperventilating, as though she'd just had a proper shock. This particular sight woke Melissa up a little more, but Wren acted faster, placing Sade into her arms and then rushing forward to catch Spencer as her legs gave out.

"Stay with me, Spencer, please."

Spencer was more than a little confused when she saw who it was that was helping her into a sitting position and rubbing soothing back rubs in her lower back so she had a focal point while she tried to get herself steady.

"Wren? What are y—"

Not really in control of her own body, Spencer vomited spectacularly all over herself before passing out in Wren's arms.

It turned out that Sade was a sympathy puker because once she saw what Spencer had done, she proceeded to projectile vomit all over Melissa's feet. Twice.

"Thanks a lot, Sade." Melissa mumbled as she wiped her daughter's face. "Mommy doesn't even have anything to change into."

Sade didn't respond to Melissa, instead wiggling herself out of Melissa's hold and rushing over to investigate Spencer for herself.

It was at this moment that an irate Veronica Hastings walked into the room.

"Spencer Autumn Rose Hastings, I just found a—what the hell is going on, here?"

The sight in front of her was finally catching up to her brain, and it was throwing her for a loop. She didn't even see Sade.

_"Melissa? Wren? _What are you two doing here?"

Melissa opened her mouth to answer, but was cut off by the sound of Sade retching yet again and then promptly passing out on the floor next to Spencer.

Not three seconds later, both the teenager and the toddler both went into shock because of what their bodies had just gone through, ultimately resulting in seizures for both of them. Veronica, although very confused, quickly called 911.

The ambulance arrived in no time flat and as the EMS techs assessed the situation, Melissa found herself being pulled aside. Rather than trying to press matters—while silently thanking her lucky stars that Peter wasn't home—Veronica cleaned Melissa up, just in time for Melissa to talk her way into riding on the ambulance with Sade and Spencer since it looked like Sade was refusing to part ways just yet.

* * *

When they got to the hospital, Sade woke up and screamed bloody murder when they tried to take her away from Spencer; she needed to be moved to the Children's Intensive Care Unit, but she wasn't having it and used her voice and fists to make it clear. In the end, Sade ended having to be sedated.

Refusing to be away from Sade and Spencer until Wren or Veronica showed up, Melissa requested that Sade not be moved until it was absolutely imperative. For good measure, Melissa mentioned Sade's autism, saying that any more sudden change in Sade's environment would more than likely worsen her already upset condition. It was true, though.

Heeding Melissa's warning, the doctors hooked Sade up to all of the proper monitoring wires before gently tucking her in the bed with Spencer, who was temporarily knocked out of commission, having been more touch-and-go on the way over than Sade had been.

When Melissa was finally alone with the girls, she realized that was wide awake but less nauseas than she had been earlier and that the baby in her belly was beginning to settle down because it seemed to like the motion of the glider chair Melissa was using.

"Thank you for calming down, little one." Melissa spoke the words gently as she rubbed her nine week belly. "Mommy appreciates it."

Melissa continued to glide in the chair for a few more moments, glad to be able to finally catch her breath.

Her peace was interrupted by a chirp from her phone, indicating a new text.

It was short and simple, but still enough to give her chills.

_Found you. —A_

* * *

**Should I do more? **


	2. Chapter 2

Melissa exited out of her texting app quickly, mind racing.

How the hell had A even known that she'd been gone with Wren in the first place? It wasn't like she'd gone underground, but still…

* * *

Melissa's phone chimed again, signaling another text. She jumped, but when she saw that it was from Wren, she relaxed again.

_'How are Sade and Spencer?'_

_'Both sleeping off their medications.'_ She texted back. _'Poor Sade had to be sedated.'_

_'Why's that?'_

_'They tried to separate her from Spencer, and she went postal.'_

_ 'Where are you?'_

_ 'In the Intensive Care Unit, room 2200. You?'_

_'In the gift shop downstairs.'_

Melissa smiled at Wren's thoughtfulness. _'Remember that Sade is really into owls.'_

_'Of course. What about Spencer? I don't want to leave her out.'_

_'Spence has always liked elephants. She likes daisies, too.'_

_'Splendid. I'll be up soon. xo'_

Melissa sent one last 'I love you' text and pocketed her phone. She really didn't want to use it right now; she was a little spooked by the A text.

"Melissa?"

Turning at the sound of her name, Melissa saw Veronica standing in the doorway with raised eyebrows.

Crap.

"Hey, mom. I guess you want an explanation, huh?"

"You bet." Veronica motioned for Melissa to come join her. "I don't care how old you are—come scoot your caboose out here, Missy Jo."

Melissa cringed at the nickname because even though she was an adult, she was only called that when parents were mad at her.

"What's going on?" Veronica wanted to know. "Where have you even been lately?"

"London, with Wren, if you must know. We had some things to take care of."

"Things that include a granddaughter your father and I never knew about?"

"We had to keep her a secret for so many reasons."

"Don't you go tossing words like those around. You, of all people, should know how bad it is to keep big secrets."

Melissa clenched her jaw and silently counted to three in her head. Between both of her parents, Veronica had always been the more sympathetic one… in her own special ways.

"Of _course_ I know that, mom, so don't think that the choices I made all those years ago don't haunt because they _do!_ Every time I'm around the rest of this family, I think about how much they haunt me and how things _could_ have been!" Melissa was mad, but for the sake of where they were, she used all of her self-control to not raise her voice any louder. "I'm an adult now, so the playing field has changed, okay? _Please_ just be a big person and at least ask what her name is!"

"I'm sorry, Melissa. Forgive me." Veronica kissed her firstborn on the top of her head. "What's my granddaughter's name?"

"Sade Veronica Elspeth Hastings-Kingston."

"That name is adorable, and so is she—when she isn't covered in vomit."

"Sade has a cold at the moment, and—"

"What's happening, here?"

Startled at the sound of the new voice, Melissa and Veronica turned to see that Peter had joined them, and that he was upset.

They were toast.

"Do either of you have any idea of what it's like to come home to find your driveway blocked off by police cars and a fire engine, only to find out from one of them that your whole family was last seen being taken off to the hospital?"

Veronica cobbled an answer together quickly. "Peter, I was going to call you, but—"

"But what? Melissa just drops from the ceiling with no warning and you couldn't find time to even text me?"

"Hey, now—we were in the house for five minutes, alright? If not for us, then Spencer," Melissa made a point to indicate the window of the room behind them as she spoke. "Would be in worse condition than she already is!"

Peter glanced at the window, but only for a brief moment before turning back to Melissa, narrowing his eyes at her. "Who exactly is 'we' and 'us'?"

"Wren and myself—we just got back from England and came to the house because I haven't been feeling my best and really needed to have a rest. Your house was closer than ours."

"Melissa? Is everything okay?"

Wren had finally joined them, and when he saw the 'unholy trio,' as he and Melissa jokingly called it, he set his purchases on a nearby table and then pulled Melissa to her feet, into a hug. Melissa hugged him back, just happy to have him wit her.

He was her anchor and she was his rock.

"I'm so glad you're here."

"Of course, love," he kissed her as she leaned against him. "But what's going on?"

"I was just starting to explain things to my mom, and then my dad showed up and started throwing sticks and stones at me!"

Thoroughly irritated that he still hadn't gotten any real answers yet, Peter practically started spitting venom at Wren. "I suggest that you take your business elsewhere, because I'm having a private conversation with my family."

Wren stood his ground, unintimidated. "They're my family, _too,_ and I love Melissa with _all_ my heart. I'm staying."

"Give me one good reason why I should let you."

"Because I know about what happened to Melissa, way back in the day."

Both of the elder Hastings were taken aback. Only the two of them and Melissa had ever known about that, agreeing that the truth would be too damaging for anyone else to ever know.

When had Wren found out?

"You know?"

"Oh, yes. Melissa told me awhile ago."

"You haven't told Spencer, have you?"

"Are you kidding?" Wren laughed hollowly. "If I was foolish enough to clue Spencer in, she would have taken _all_ of us down by now."

"Fair point, but this whole thing stays between the four of us. Understood?"

"Absolutely, sir."

Peter glanced back at the sight inside the hospital room. "Who's the little one with Spencer?"

"She's called Sade," explained Veronica. "And she's our granddaughter."

"She was also recently diagnosed with high-functioning autism." Melissa added. "She talks, but not much."

For what felt like the dozenth time, Veronica was very surprised, although Peter just got angrier.

"What? No." He shook his head. "This family—or whatever the hell we are these days—doesn't do well with imperfection."

"You did _not_ just call my daughter imperfect! She's very _smart_, incredibly _beautiful,_ and a real _delight_ once you get to know her!" Melissa cried. "Sade is also a little _different_, but not _imperfect!"_

"And _illegitimate!"_ Peter snarled. "Melissa, our family has _power_ in Rosewood, and with that power comes a strict reputation for all of us to maintain, above all!"

"Are you saying that I _embarrass_ you?"

"Yes, that's _exactly_ what I'm saying, here." Peter decided. _"Spencer_ has done her fair share of embarrassing the Hastings family name, too!"

Melissa couldn't believe what she was hearing, although she'd always known that fighting with her father was dangerous because she'd inherited his temper, always making them evenly matched. This was a whole new level of hurt.

"I worshipped you, you know." Her words came out in a whisper as hot tears fell down her cheeks. "Up until just now, I worshiped you, but now I'm ashamed to be your daughter."

Now Peter was just plain scandalized. "How _dare_ you? How _dare_ you start being ungrateful to me _now,_ after _everything_ your mother and I have done for you—to _help_ you—for _all_ of these years? You and Spencer will bring this family to its knees!"

"No, we won't." Melissa shook her head. "I don't know about Spencer, but I can save us."

"Do enlighten me."

"No matter how much you already seem to dislike her, Sade is also a Hastings, and Wren and I can teach her to be happy and down-to-earth, instead of power-hungry and pretentious, like you. Some how, some way, Sade will save all of us when we least expect it."

Melissa put her hands on her baby bump, framing it.

"Sade is going to be a big sister, and we are going to teach her little brother or sister the same values that she's been taught."

Peter only heard one part of that last statement. "So both of them are illegitimate!"

"Stop using that word!" Melissa insisted. "My children aren't improperly signed documents, or something; they're living, breathing, _human beings,_ and _that's_ what matters!"

Peter took a step closer to Melissa, but Veronica quickly stepped in between them, speaking coldly to her husband.

"Peter, go home. Go pack some clothes and drive to a hotel. You're not allowed to come home _or_ talk to the rest of this family—Wren and Sade included—until you can accept the realities of how our family is now. It's hard for me, but at least I'm _willing_ to _try."_

"How can _you_ turn your back on me? This whole mess is an absolute _disgrace!"_

"No, _you_ are the disgrace, Peter! Now go before I call for security!"

Peter stormed off as Wren stepped a few feet away to take a phone call, while Melissa sank into a chair. Veronica sat next to her and wrapped an arm around Melissa's shoulder.

"Mom, what just happened? Did we just get dumped?"

"That's a colorful way to put it, but no." Veronica kissed the top of Melissa's head again. "I just told your father to get lost for awhile. You and your family need a safe space without a raving lunatic wandering about."

If only you could help me get rid of A, thought Melissa.

"Thank you."

"Come home with us when Sade is cleared." Veronica said suddenly. "Your dad will be gone, and the barn will be wide open."

"I thought you guys were moving."

"That suddenly doesn't seem so important anymore. Will you come?"

Before Melissa could answer, her boyfriend sat down in the other free chair with an ashen look on his face.

"Wren, what?" Melissa asked.

"That was a police officer, telling me he's on his way to collect me. Apparently, there's a horrible house fire happening in the Village."

"Oh, God."

"The Village?" Veronica echoed. "Isn't that the new gated development near Main Street?"

"Yes." Wren felt as though he were swimming in gravy. "The fire hasn't stopped yet, although its been contained to one house."

"Whose?"

"Ours."


	3. Chapter 3

Melissa was aghast. Could this day get any worse?

_"O-our_ house?"

"Uh-huh." Wren sighed heavily. "Melissa, what do we even do?"

"Go with the officer when they get here, find out the total damages."

"Are you sure?"

"Uh-huh."

Veronica started to give Melissa a back rub, supporting her as she spoke to Wren. "I'll stay with her. You go take care of this."

"Okay, Veronica. Thank you."

Wren stood and gave her his gift shop purchases before going to to Melissa and kissing her.

"I'll talk to you later."

Melissa just nodded and watched him go. After a little bit of effort and because it hurt her to see her daughter so forlorn, Veronica was able to coax Melissa into helping her decorate the girls' room with Wren's gifts.

That ended too soon and the next thing Veronica knew, she was out in the hallway again, trying in vain to comfort her upset, overtired hormonal daughter.

Before long, two doctors approached them.

"Veronica and Melissa Hastings?" The first doctor, a woman, inquired.

"Yes?"

"Mother and daughter had answered at the same time, so Veronica was quick to make the distinction between them.

"What can you tell us?" She asked.

"Miss Hastings," the second doctor approached Melissa first. "My name is Doctor Johansen, and I'm the head pediatric surgeon. Will your daughter's father be able to join us?"

"No." Melissa shook her head. "Urgent family matters have called him away. _Please_ just talk to me about Sade."

"Has she undergone any major transitions lately?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact. Her father and I just regained permanent guardianship over her from her grandparents in England because they're both too sick to take care of her for us anymore."

"I see. When did you all return stateside?"

"A little under four hours ago now. She's also been out of it because she has a head cold."

The doctor nodded, scribbling something in her clipboard. "As I understand it, you told the doctors that your daughter has a form of autism; that, along with being sick and then moving to a whole new country gave her more stress than her body could handle. I know it may seem odd, but the seizure was her body's way of coping and resetting itself, if you will."

"How is she health-wise now?"

"In a regular sleep. When she wakes up, I'd like to monitor her for a few more hours to be on the safe side."

"Thank you." Melissa breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

Doctor Johansen nodded and left, promising to return a little bit later. Melissa just leaned back in her chair and sighed—her new house was on fire, Sade was in the hospital with Spencer on her first day ever in America, Peter had essentially been banished from the family (although after what he'd said, Melissa felt he deserved it), Wren had told both of the elder Hastings that he had knowledge of Melissa's biggest and oldest secret, and to top it all off, she'd gotten her first A text in quite awhile.

She was only half listening as Veronica and Doctor Malone started talking about Spencer, but her head shot up when Veronica asked one question in particular.

"Is my daughter pregnant?"

"Mom!" blurted Melissa. "Why would you ask something like that about _Spencer?"_

"Calm yourself. Now." Veronica warned, turning to her. "Just before you and your family arrived, I found a positive pregnancy stick in the bathroom and we both know that it couldn't have been mine."

Melissa shook her head. "You'd think Spence would have enough common sense to at least hide something like that if she didn't go to one of her friends' houses or something…"

Doctor Malone cleared her throat, reminding the Hastings women that she hadn't left yet. "Spencer is eighteen, which makes her a legal adult, but since she was found in such bad condition and you are her family, it's my duty to tell you that she is indeed pregnant."

Even though she'd been anticipating this answer, it still gave Veronica a shock to her system and she sat down, speechless.

Her behavior forced Melissa to take point. "How far along is she?"

"Six weeks. Do you know if the father is in the picture?"

"Honestly, no, but I have a pretty good idea of who it is. One of us will call him. Did you get these results from the blood tests that the EMS techs did on the ambulance?"

"Yes, but there was no time to even do an emergency ultrasound because as I'm sure you can recall, things got slightly out of control."

Spencer had woken up during the ambulance ride over, and as a result of her ensuing confusion, she freaked out and pitched a fit almost worthy of Sade when she didn't get her way. Her acting out had earned her the sedation that she was currently sleeping off.

"Yeah, no kidding." Melissa muttered. "Will you be able to do an ultrasound?"

"Yes, but not until after she's awake and brought up to speed. If she doesn't wake up on her own within the hour, we will wake her."

"And if she _does_ wake up on her own?"

"Contact the nurse, and they will contact me. I will see you soon."

When Doctor Malone was gone, Veronica stood and stretched. "I'll go call the girls and Toby; our street is probably unclogged of all of the emergency vehicles and looky-lous by now. Are you going to be okay by yourself?"

"Go right ahead. I don't think I have any more energy left in me to be scare of anything else."

Veronica frowned at Melissa's phrasing, but when Melissa told her she was going to be fine, Veronica exited the room, going to an outdoor patio just down the hallway.

The second the door closed behind her, Melissa received a new text.

_Didn't your mother ever tell you not to play with matches? All actions have consequences. —A _

* * *

Melissa soon became lost in thought as while Sade and Spencer slept on, trying to figure out who she could recruit for helping her take A down. She knew for sure that Wren would follow her anywhere because he knew all about A, and had even gotten texts from her every once in awhile. It would be tempting to sway Jason, but it would probably be best if she left him alone.

Toby was off limits altogether, but there always Lucas… or even that Caleb kid. Freakin' weirdo.

Paige McCullers, though… she would be the best option.

* * *

"Melissa?"

Her train of thought was derailed when she saw Toby, Alison, Hanna, Aria, and Emily standing in front of her, some with bags in their hands, but all with serious looks on their faces.

"Your mom called me," Toby explained at Melissa's confused expression. "And she said to get over here as quickly as possible because of Spencer."

"You're crazy about her; how did you not get into a wreck on the way over here?"

"Because we intercepted him and got him to ride with us." Emily supplied quickly. "Missus H called us, too. She also told us to bring some food since you probably wouldn't be moving from your spot, and since you're eating for two now—congrats, by the way."

Melissa thanked her and took the offered food bag, but didn't investigate it just yet. "It's been a hell of an afternoon, you guys, and that's just putting it mildly. Wren and I are back in Rosewood for the foreseeable future because we have a family now, and that little girl in there with Spence is my baby girl, Sade. She's three."

Melissa was tempted to tell Spencer's tribe—she ruled the roost, Alison's return or not—that if they stayed out her way, she'd stay out of theirs. If things were how they had been at the height of the Jenna Thing, she would've said something like that, but now things were totally different.

"Why are Spence and Sade here, anyway?" Alison asked, seeing the distance in Melissa's eyes.

"Sade is already ill to begin with, but she's also thrown up, gone into shock, and had a seizure. Spencer is really all over the place, to be honest, but she's pregnant."

The quiet fell so abruptly that it almost made Melissa dizzy, but it became so quiet that one could've almost heard a pin drop as Alison, Aria, Hanna, and Emily turned to Toby, awaiting his reaction.

He actually went weak in the knees, but Hanna was quick to catch him.

"Just breathe." She soothed. "I've got you."

"Are Spencer and her baby okay?" Aria inquired.

"Considering everything that's happened today, yes, actually. And before you all ask, they are allowed visitors—"

That was all Toby needed to hear because the next thing any of them knew, he was hurrying into Spencer's room and sitting on the bed, holding her in his arms, rocking her and kissing her.

Spencer didn't stir.

After a moment, the girls joined Toby and the others, leaving Melissa be.

Way too emotionally exhausted now, Melissa just occupied herself with eating the takeout Emily had brought.

Not until she'd finished most of her food did Melissa look back in on the others, but when she did, she was rewarded with a heart-melting sight.

Sade was in Emily's arms now, leaning her head against the swimmer's shoulder and snuggling closer to her when Alison thoughtfully draped a blanket over her. Sure, Sade was hooked up to lots of cables that were monitoring her health and her brain activity, but even still, she seemed to be at peace. For once.

Meanwhile, Toby was cradling Spencer like she was the most precious thing in the world. Melissa had no idea how Spencer felt about being pregnant, but judging by Toby's gentleness, she had a feeling that he was going to support Spencer, no matter what.

Wishing that Veronica would hurry back from her phone calls, Melissa just sat back in her chair and put the takeout aside, suddenly losing her appetite as memory after memory of bad thing she'd ever said or done to Spencer over the years came rushing back. To say that Melissa felt guilty was an understatement.

She had a _long_ list of sins to atone for.


	4. Chapter 4

"Melissa?"

"Melissa!"

"Hm? What?"

Alison was shaking her awake—she didn't remember falling asleep—but she looked happy.

"What is it, Ali?"

"Sade and Spencer are awake." Alison tugged at her hand. "Come on!"

Melissa let Alison help her up and when she reached the doorway, she teared up at the sight in front of her.

Spencer was propped up on pillows, with Sade straddling her and letting Spencer hold her hands as she repeated something Spencer was telling her.

"Sp— Spenc—"

Sade made a disgruntled noise, upset that she couldn't get it.

"Don't give up, baby! You're so close!" cooed Spencer, pointing to herself. "Let's try again: I'm called Spencer!"

"Sp— Spencer! Spencer!" The three-year-old pointed to herself. "Me Sade, you Spencer!"

"Very good!"

Sade made a trilling noise and then lit up when she saw Melissa. "Hi, mummy!"

Melissa stared in surprise. Because her mini carbon copy didn't speak all the time, the sound of Sade's lilting British accent was one of her favorite sounds in the entire world, but what startled her even more was that not only was her daughter making physical contact with people she didn't know, but she had also warmed up to them without help.

"Hi, Sade-love." Melissa walked over to her. "How are you?"

Sade gave her mother a thumb's up and then leaned against Spencer, who unexpectedly found herself turning to mush and returning her cuddles without hesitation.

Seeing that Sade wasn't going to speak anymore, Melissa moved onto Spencer.

"And how are _you?"_

"Majorly confused. What's happening?"

Hanna pressed the 'call doctor' button when none of them could think of a good enough answer. "The doctor will probably want to know that you're awake now, and she'll be better at explaining things than us. We should probably go."

Again, Spencer was taken aback, but she rolled with it. "Okay. I guess I'll see all of you later…"

In a whirlwind of noise and color, the girls all said their goodbyes but when they were gone, Spencer noticed that Toby hadn't gone anywhere.

"You're still here?"

"Of course." He smiled and kissed her. "As long as you're in here, I'm not going anywhere."

Melissa made to move Sade because she could see that the couple wanted their privacy, but to Sade, Melissa was incredibly transparent.

"Don't want to go."

"Careful, Sade." Spencer suddenly gave a soft grunt when got kneed in the stomach unexpectedly. "My tummy hurts a little."

Sade nodded understandingly and looked apologetic. "Me sorry."

"It's okay." Spencer promised. "I just don't want to get sick on you."

Sade burst into giggles at the thought while Melissa watched the scene without knowing what to say.

A week ago, Sade had been very quietly and reclusive, not speaking for days as she watched her parents pack up all of her belongings and talk with her about moving to Rosewood.

Now it was like Sade was a completely different kid.

* * *

Doctor Malone returned before long with Veronica—who went straight to Spencer—and a nurse who was pulling a brightly-colored wagon filled with blankets and toys for Sade.

"Miss Hastings," the nurse addressed Melissa. "We have a nice room set up for Sade in the children's ward. Perhaps you could ask her if she'd like to go for a ride…?"

With no small amount of bribing, and a lift from Toby, Sade settled into her wagon happily.

Melissa turned to Veronica. "Are you going to stay with Spencer? It's okay of you do."

Veronica turned to Spencer, who had an immediate answer. "I'll be okay with Toby, and Melissa looks like she needs you more than me."

"You sure?"

"Uh-huh."

"Okay, Spencer." Veronica kissed her cheek. "I'll be a call away if you need me."

Laughing, Spencer urged Veronica to go.

* * *

When they reached Sade's room, Melissa received a surprise: Wren.

Melissa ran to him and hugged him. "What have you found out?"

"Everything is gone, Melissa, and I mean everything. It's just a stroke of luck that the movers hadn't gotten anything inside yet."

"Oh, God."

"Daddy?"

Wren looked away from Melissa to see Sade beckoning to him, all snuggled up on her bed.

"Come with me?"

"Of course, my angel."

Sade had had Wren wrapped around her little finger from the first moment Melissa had woken him up in the middle of the night to feel her strong kicks. There was no way now that Wren would ever deny Sade of anything.

Melissa's phone chimed with a new text, and she actually jumped.

"Sweetheart, what's the matter?" Veronica pulled Melissa aside. "The only people I know who are ever this jumpy or distant are Spencer and the girls."

When Melissa didn't say anything, Veronica's eyes widened in shock.

"Please tell me that you aren't mixed up in whatever it is they've got going on."

Melissa's bottom lip trembled and wiped her tears away with one hand as she put the other one in the small of her back,for lack of anything else to do with it.

"Mom, I can't say anything to you about it." her voice was timid and almost broken. "I just _can't."_

Veronica sighed and shook her head. "How long, Melissa? At least answer that."

"Since the Halloween before Jenna Marshall went blind. Wren is involved, too."

Veronica felt ill.

She'd always known—since moving back to Rosewood just after Spencer turned four, and even more so after Spencer had rekindled her friendship with Aria, Emily, and Hanna—that something was weird about her whole family.

She'd just never expected that she'd get so close to the truth in one night.

As the sanest one—whatever 'sanest' even meant anymore—left in her family, she didn't want to corrupt that.

"Melissa, you need to tell Spencer the _truth_ about who she _really_ is."

Melissa gave her mother a genuine 'are you fucking kidding me?' look.

"Not now, while she's in the hospital," Veronica clarified. "But soon—before she's too far along to fly."

"Excuse me?"

"Look—I have no idea what's going on, other than that it's no doubt been going on for years now, and that several people have been hurt and even _killed_ over it—but it's taking a toll on you, and if it escalates any more, then it'll be even _more_ unsafe in Rosewood for you and your family than it _already_ is. Do you understand me?"

Melissa nodded mutely. Veronica had always given her good reality checks, whether she wanted them or not.

"I don't want to get involved, but I _do_ want you to know that I love you and your family with my whole heart. I'd do anything for any of you."

Veronica cupped Melissa's face in her hands.

"The second you tell Spencer the truth about who she is and where she come from, I will buy tickets and for whatever else it takes to keep all of you safe, especially where your father is concerned because he started unravelling when Jessica started kicking up dirt."

"Jessica is _dead_, though."

"No need to remind me, but that woman had been acting squirrelly for the past few years and she actually went to the grave thinking that I didn't know anything about the affair she had with your father that spawned Jason."

Melissa blanched; she'd only just found out about that and it would never not disturb her. "How did you find out about _that?"_

"An anonymous email that was only signed 'A' at the end it." (Melissa did her best not to react) "Your father has no idea that I know, and neither do Jason or Kenneth."

Kenneth was Mister DiLaurentis.

Melissa held her hands in the 'time out' position. "Mom, how am I supposed to atone for my sins in one conversation with Spencer? Am I supposed to go up to her and be like "Hi, Spence, how are you? By the way—you're actually my _kid,_ not my sister"?"

"Well, I know you're going to think of a more gentle way to put it than that—"

"She's going to freak _out!"_

Veronica stared her daughter down. "Come hell or high water, Missy Jo, you are going to tell her that you're her mother."

"Do I have to tell her who her father is?"

"Don't be ridiculous—one thing at a time."

"Okay." Melissa paused. "Mom can I hug you?

Veronica very nearly came undone and held Melissa close, rubbing her back gently and whispering comforts and reassurances to her.

"Melissa," she kissed her on the forehead and smiled at her. "You and Spencer are the best things that I've ever done or done right by—bar none—and I love you and her more than anyone in this life. _Please_ don't forget that."

"I don't think I ever could."

"That's my girl."

The moment was ruined when Melissa's phone beeped again and she jumped. It beeped again twenty seconds later with a follow-up text.

"Who's texting you that's making you jump?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Melissa—"

"Mom, _please?"_

Veronica relented and gave her one last kiss. "I'm going to go home and get things ready for when Spencer and Sade are allowed to leave the hospital."

Melissa raised her eyebrows. "You just don't want to be alone, do you?"

"Bingo." Veronica physically turned Melissa to the bed and gave her a gentle nudge. "Now go be with your family, go be Sade's mommy. Can you do that?"

"Yes."

"Good girl. Go."

Melissa did as she was told, and did it without looking back.

She still had those two texts to answer, although she already knew who they were from.

But that would be on the agenda for later.

Wren and Sade were waiting for her.


	5. Chapter 5

Spencer and Sade were released from the hospital around late afternoon, and understandably, the occupants of the House of Hastings were all feeling like they'd had the longest day of their lives, Veronica amongst them.

That being said, everyone had someone to lean on.

Melissa had Wren and Sade, while Spencer had Alison, Aria, Hanna, and Emily.

Veronica didn't really have anyone.

_DING!_

Her phone lit up, signaling a new text. It was from Pam Fields.

_'Saw all of the hullabaloo at your house. You're welcome over here for dinner if you want an escape.'_

Veronica's fingers flew across her keyboard as she answered and hit send._ 'Won't I be interrupting you and Emily?' _

Pam's answer came back fast. _'She and Paige are out in town right now, and I feel like making dinner for my friends.' _

Veronica smiled. She'd become friends with Pam Fields, Ashley Marin, and Ella Montgomery on her own, literally decades ago. When Jessica DiLaurentis was alive, she had been also been part of their group, but was always the 'token weirdo,' of the bunch. On the other hand, Pam had always been the mother hen.

_'Okay, I'll come. What about Ashley and Ella?'_

_'I'm going to talk to Ashley next, and Ella is already here. Getting her off her couch was hard.'_

_'You mean more like a major achievement? Should I bring anything?'_

_'Just wine.'_

_'I will be over soon. Don't let Ella stress eat again.'_

_'Don't worry. See you soon.'_

* * *

After changing into something more casual, Veronica sound two bottles of her family's best red wine and a hand basket to put them into. Even though she was only going over to her best friend's house, presentation still meant everything to her. Her hand basket was lacking something.

"Would you please pass me a cloth from that drawer?"

Melissa was in the kitchen with Veronica, standing near a section of drawers. Knowing which drawer in particular her mother was talking about, Melissa opened it and pulled out a clean cotton cheese cloth and handed it to her mother.

"Where are you going?"

"Just an impromptu get-together at Pam's. God only knows that I need it after a day like today."

Cracking open a water bottle from the fridge and taking a sip, Melissa nodded. "Wren and I can hold down the fort, and we have our own things to sort out, anyway."

"Not living space, though—the barn is yours until you guys are back up on your feet."

"Thanks, mom."

Veronica smiled at her. "Melissa, you're my daughter, and this is the house you did most of your growing up in. It's your home, too."

Melissa returned the smile and watched her mother throw a few more things into the basket before covering it with the cheese cloth.

"Who all is going to be there?" She asked.

"Me, Pam, Ashley, and Ella. Why?"

Melissa sighed. "If you have to explain what Wren and I doing back in Rosewood with a child we've never mentioned before, could you just… give them an abridged version, or something?"

"I'll do my best," Veronica chuckled. "But I've known them all since I was pregnant with you, and that was a long time ago. They could very easily weasel the truth out of me if they wanted to."

Melissa knew this to be the truth. "I can't say I didn't try."

Like Sade, Veronica saw Melissa as very transparent, so she saw the sadness in her eyes right away. "Out with it: I can see that you have some kind of burning question that you're sitting on."

"Are you and dad going to get a divorce?"

The inquiry stopped Veronica in her tracks. Yes, thanks to everything that had happened to Alison and also because of the things that had come to the surface in the time since, Veronica felt as though her thirty-three year long marriage was beginning to crumble. But if Melissa—who normally didn't ask her those kinds of questions—felt it necessary to voice, then she knew she was going to have to take a step back and reevaluate things.

"To be honest, I don't know. How would you feel if that became a reality?"

"I don't know, either." The younger brunette admitted at length.

"Then we won't talk about it." Veronica picked up her basket and looked at Melissa in all seriousness. "I have something I want you to consider doing, and if it's not for me, then at least for yourself."

"What's that?"

"Talking to your daughter. You know which one I mean."

Melissa watched her mother go out the side door and when she was gone, she sat down at the breakfast island and spoke to her baby as she felt it wiggle around inside her.

"I really hope things are a little bit less complicated by the time you get here. I really do."

* * *

"What would you say if I told you that our baby girl—who normally hates physical contact and prefers being alone—is currently having a _Once Upon A Time _marathon with Spencer?"

Now on the couch and staring into space daydreaming, Melissa came back to reality as Wren sat with her.

"I would have to say show me proof… and also that that sounds utterly adorable. Please tell me you got a picture."

"Indeed. Behold."

The picture Wren showed Melissa took Melissa's breath away. Neither Sade nor Spencer were paying attention to the camera—Melissa doubted they'd even seen it—and Spencer had a blanket wrapped around herself with Sade sitting in between her legs, also somewhat wrapped in the blanket.

What made the picture even cuter was that both girls were dressed similarly in oversized t-shirts and even had their hair done up in messy buns. They looked even more like sisters than they already did, and Sade was so deeply engrossed in the program on the laptop in front of her that she didn't even notice that Spencer was holding her little head steady with her hands and kissing the top of it.

Melissa's eyes misted up as she handed the iPad back. "They're bonding the way sisters should be, and they don't even know it."

"Please don't throw anything at me like you did the last time I suggested this, but perhaps you really should start to think about telling Spencer the truth about herself… and also about your connection to Bethany."

Melissa blanched. The whole mess with Bethany Young was half the reason she had left Rosewood the first time and moved to Philadelphia, but _that_ felt secondary at the moment.

Right now, Spencer was everything.

Absolutely everything.

"After all," Wren added as he set his tablet aside and started giving Melissa a foot rub. "Isn't she already three years older than you were when she was born?"

"She is, yes."

Eighteen years ago, the Hastings family had been at a going away party for one of Peter's colleagues and Melissa had been forced to come along; back then, her parents had really prided in showing her off. She already hadn't wanted to go, especially since the other children at the party were actual children… or so she'd thought.

As it turned out, the slightly older teenaged son of the party hosts was home. He wandered into the room where Melissa had taken refuge read a book, looking for a place to hide because he'd suck some liquor and got wasted because he couldn't handle the alcohol.

As Melissa recalled, the boy's name was Mason Cross, and it took him a few minutes to notice her, but when did, he wouldn't leave her alone because he thought she was an angel, she was that beautiful.

Mason was also a lot stronger than he looked.

It was all over in a flash because Mason was _that_ wasted.

Melissa fell pregnant from that encounter, and it was ages before she would ever be able to admit that she'd been raped. She never had a desire to tell Mason about it, and the one time she thought about it, the Cross family was already gone.

And soon thereafter, Melissa's parents 'conveniently' took 'work-related' opportunities in another state, packing up and leaving Pennsylvania for four years.

The rest was history.

"And I can't keep lying about my age, can I?" Melissa mused. "Spencer is already the one who is aging gracefully."

"Is that a hint of _jealousy_ I'm detecting?" Wren teased.

"No, of course not." Melissa laughed and then sighed. "It's just that ever since A found us the first time, it feels like every choice I've made and every lie I've told from the minute I realized Spencer was growing inside me is coming back to get me now."

Unable to hold back her tears any longer, Melissa let them fall.

"I love Spencer so much, but I've been so mean to her because I had my parents' undivided attention for fifteen years. If I tell her _now, _she might have enough of a meltdown to send her back to _Radley, _okay? I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I was the reason my baby had a return trip to the sanitarium. Last time just about killed her."

"Then we will think of a way for you to break the news without setting her off too much." Wren kissed Melissa's temple. "Perhaps a video recording, since she seems to shy away or get suspicious whenever you show her kindness. I'm sure we can find a video camera and a tripod somewhere."

Melissa leaned into Wren's arms and just nodded vaguely. Her mind was a million miles away.

She was unravelling. Not the way Peter had, but it _was_ happening and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

Melissa had just turned fifteen less than a week before Spencer was conceived, and now she was thirty-three. Spencer was already eighteen. Where had the time gone?

She didn't even want to think about what would happen if Spencer gave up her baby when it was born. Melissa had been perilously close to making that decision when she carried Spencer, and she probably would've regretted it if she had. A lot of people saw Melissa as ruthless, but she wasn't. Her children were her weaknesses.

And now she and Spencer were pregnant together... _that_ was a whole new level of weird.

She also couldn't imagine what it would be like if—or maybe even when—A found this out. She wondered if she should start living in fear of that day.

Melissa didn't like it, but this was her life now.


	6. Chapter 6

Veronica reached Pam's house at the same as Ashley, and the shorter woman could easily see that her friend was bothered.

"Are you alright?"

It was everything Veronica could do to not break down right then and there. She needed the rest of her friends before that could happen.

"No, Ashley." She answered honestly. "I'm not."

Realizing that that was all she was going to be getting, Ashley just held the door open for her.

By the time they reached the kitchen, Veronica was back to her normal self and her smile broadened when she saw Pam and Ella already hard at work. Pam was prepping stir fry ingredients while Ella sat at the stove counter, prepping a tossed salad.

What was most important was that Ella was laughing at something Pam had said. Ella hadn't been doing a lot of laughing since breaking off her engagement. There had been crying, and lots of it.

When Jessica had been alive, she had been the oldest and the 'matriarch' of their posse, the entitled one because she had came from money and had had connections in high places. Pam and Ashley, who were both the best at cooking and remembering important dates, had the same June birthday. Veronica was the oldest one left now—not that it mattered—but Ella was the baby of the group by a landslide, being young enough to be any of their daughters.

More importantly, Ella was only seven years older than Melissa, and as a result, Veronica had always been extra protective of her.

"Hey, you." She greeted her friend warmly after she put her things away. "How are you doing?"

"Better, now that we're all together." Ella chirped as she dumped a saucer of cut-up carrots into the big bowl of salad in front of her. "It's funny how sometimes you never know how badly you need the ones you love until they're right in front of you…"

"Hey!" Pam broke through their little bubble, pointing her wooden spoon at Veronica. "If you want to eat, you have to help cook! We are _not_ going to have a real version of the little red hen parable!"

"Okay, okay, boss lady." Veronica teased her. "Tell me what I can do to help."

* * *

It wasn't until after dinner and dessert, when the friends were all sitting together in the front room and each nursing a glass of wine that Veronica's thoughts began drifting back towards the events of the day.

She tried to keep herself in check, but failed miserably when Melissa sent her the picture that Wren had snapped earlier.

"Okay," Ella demanded, holding out her hand. "Show me what's got you so worked up."

Wordlessly, Veronica handed her phone over and when Ella saw the picture, she cooed over it before handing the phone to Pam and Ashley.

"That is one of the most adorable pictures I've ever seen, and Sade is too cute for words!"

Veronica was taken aback. "How do you know her name?"

"Aria talks," She answered simply as she returned Veronica's phone to her. "But we're dying to know—who is Sade's mother?"

"Melissa is, and Wren is Sade's father." Veronica pocketed her phone. "I don't know what their deal is—other than that they've been friends for ten years now—but apparently, Melissa had Sade in London three years ago and they're back in Rosewood for the 'foreseeable future,' as Melissa says..."

"But?" Ella prompted. "You were going to say something else about Sade, weren't you?"

"That darling little girl is autistic."

"What does Peter think about having a grandbaby?" Pam wanted to know.

"He isn't exactly her biggest fan. He called Sade 'imperfection' and 'illegitimate' because she's different and because Melissa and Wren weren't married when she was born." Veronica's words came tumbling out faster than she could stop them. "Peter and I got into an awful fight about it, and he's no longer allowed home or even to talk to any of us until he gets himself together. He really tore into Melissa's family, so I had to do what I had to in order to protect my own… Right?"

Ella, Ashley, and Pam all nodded supportively. As mothers, they all understood the instinct to protect their children.

"I…"

Veronica's thoughts faltered for a second because once she said what she was thinking, there was no taking it back.

"Just take your time." Ella soothed, patting her knee. "We're all here for you, no matter what you need."

"And we love you." Ashley tacked on as the others nodded in agreement. "Always have, always will."

Veronica took a deep steadying breath, but was shaky on the exhale. "I want to divorce Peter."

"Because of what he said about Sade?"

"Not only that, but also because enough is enough and his because of his _long_ litany of grievances and every bad thing he's ever said or made me do to uphold our family's reputation."

"So we all know because of that time you got really hammered a few days after Alison vanished that Peter is already a few years older than you _and_ that your marriage to him was arranged between his parents and yours beforehand," said Pam. "But what else is there?"

Veronica laughed hollowly; Pam sounded so innocent. "Twenty-eight years ago, Peter had an affair with Jessica and got her pregnant."

This announcement left Pam, Ashley, and Ella each feeling scandalized that Jessica could have done something like that, but Veronica plowed on.

"Jason is his son, and neither he nor Peter know that I know. None of you can tell anyone, because I'm certain there'd be trouble if they found out that I know."

The others all promised to keep mum about this particular secret with Pam adding, "Do Melissa and Spencer know about Jason...?"

"Melissa does, and I wouldn't be surprised if Spencer was the one who figured out the infidelity in the first place."

Neither Ashley nor Ella had any tidbits of wisdom to offer up because they both knew all too well of the pain and humiliation that came with being cheated on. Pam, on the other hand, had been happily and faithfully married to Wayne for nearly twenty years now, so at the moment, she was in unfamiliar territory altogether.

At least she knew how to make the conversation take a slightly different course.

"What exactly are the 'bad things' Peter has made you do or say?"

"Get Melissa and myself to bold-face _lie_ to Spencer for her entire life about who she really is! I'm so sorry I never said anything, even to any of _you! _I'm _so_ sorry!"

There was dead silence in the room now. Veronica was their leader these days, as well as the backbone who held everyone together. They were quite unaccustomed to seeing her crumble.

"Do you all remember when we moved to Hilton Head for four years?"

They all nodded.

"We went because due to unfortunate circumstances, Melissa got pregnant and had Spencer. We helped her through it, but since Peter has values that are more old fashioned than mine, he decided that we would raise Spencer as our own so nobody would have to find out the truth. I think I got on board with it because I saw how relieved it made Melissa."

Veronica took a sip of wine.

"I really wanted another baby or two so Spencer could have playmates, but Peter said no. I'm still open to the idea of adopting a little one, even if I had to do it on my own. Does that sound silly?"

"No." The others answered in unison.

"Then I guess I should let you in on another secret—right before the messes with Jenna and Alison started, I decided on a whim to put myself on a waiting list… just in case. I'm not always the Ice Queen that most people think I am."

All of her friends congratulated her and wished her the best of luck. None of them were going to say that Veronica was really going 'out there,' because she'd always been there for her friends, most of the time carrying her own burdens until they almost broke her. Such was the way she'd been raised, and such was the way when you were a Hastings.

Veronica smiled at their support. There was a reason she loved these women as much as she did.

"All of this about Spencer means that she's my granddaughter, but has no clue… I love that girl with my whole heart, but with everything that's been happening over the past few years, she's going to figure it out and will never be to forgive us, and that is the last thing she needs right now! What am I supposed to do?"

And with that, Veronica was finally broken.

* * *

_DING!_

Later that night, a notification from her phone altered Melissa to a new text.

It was from Mona.

_'Let the circle be unbroken.'_

"Ugh!" Melissa set her phone aside on the kitchen counter. "How does that miserable tiny urchin even know that we're back?"

"She has her ways, and we both know it."

Wren stood behind the chair his lover was perched on, and snaked his arms around her middle, resting his hands on her petite bump.

"What did Mona say?"

"She said 'let the circle be unbroken.' That's the title of a book I read to her when she was younger… she really liked it."

"What does that phrase mean to her now?"

"That she has a hold on me, and the rest of us in that army of hers. I wish we could escape her, but history has shown that A will strike—maybe even at Mona's behest—and sometimes even kill if something like an escape is attempted."

"Then that is why you and I will stay in the inner circle of her army, my love." Wren kissed her from her jaw to her neck a few times, reminding himself to keep it in his pants when Melissa started sighing lustily in response. "If we don't try anything suspicious, then there won't be anyone in the way when we finally succeed in pulling the carpet out from under A's feet."

"Who would you consider asking to help us?"

"Paige McCullers and Caleb Rivers, that's for sure. Maybe even Ezra Fitz, but we'll see about him."

"Good."

Wren kissed Melissa's neck a few more times, this time grazing his tongue against her skin. If he kept going, his pants would've gotten too tight—he had a long history of falling prey to Melissa giving him boners. Knowing this, he reeled himself in before anything went anywhere.

"The best and most important part is that we're protecting the people we love and care about, even if being in Mona's army hurts as bad as it does."

"We'll go on living," Melissa concluded. "But that's the cost—living with our own secrets and dealing ones we wish we didn't know, just to protect the people we love or even care about."

"And that's quite a few people."

"Sade, Spencer, the baby, Spencer's baby, Alison, Emily, Hanna, Aria, Pam, Wayne, Ashley, Ella…"

Melissa had known the DiLaurentis, Fields, Marin, and Montgomery families before any of their children were even born, and the memories she had from those days were fond and beautiful ones.

She would have mentioned Jason and Toby, but they had both gone rogue one too many times; they were outside her protection now.

"That's a lot of people, actually."

"I just wish it was all over so that—"

_DING!_

Quick to fetch Melissa's phone before she could destroy it in annoyance, Wren read the text.

"Now our pet urchin is requesting that you meet her at the Rear Window at eight-thirty tomorrow morning."

"I—"

_DING!_

"If that is Mona Janel Vanderwaal _again, _then _so help me God—"_

"No, no!" Wren assured her, checking his phone. "It's me; I'm needed at the hospital."

Melissa calmed down and nodded understandingly. One thing about being a doctor in a town like Rosewood meant that the second you came back from emergency family leave, you were right back to being on call.

"Okay, go ahead and go. Sade, Spence, the baby and I will be fine."

The two exchanged their goodbyes, and not too long after Melissa heard Wren's car pull out of the driveway, Spencer came downstairs. She had barely remembered to put on shorts under her shirt because most of the time, she was alone in the house, and when it was just her and Toby, she was down to her skivvies because he liked to look at her and she liked to show off her body for him.

"Where did Sade go?" Melissa asked as she watched Spencer sit down at the table with a container of salad and two forks. "Her people didn't call her home on their UFO, did they?"

"No." Spencer laughed. "I think I wore her out because she's asleep on my bed. Being an auntie is fun."

Melissa's heart clenched at that last part, but she brushed it away. "Oh, really? Just what all did you do up there?"

Over the shared salad, Spencer told all about how she'd found a few of her old picture books in the attic and looked at them with Sade, teaching her about all the different things in them before they decided on their _Once Upon A Time _marathon.

"Melissa, why are you crying?"

By the end of Spencer's account, Melissa had started shedding a few happy tears.

"It's just pregnancy hormones." She lied, dabbing at her eyes. "You'll find out soon enough."

"It seems like more than that." Spencer came around the counter and wiped Melissa's tears. "You can tell me."

Mind blown that Spencer was the one doing the bridge-gapping this time, Melissa smiled sincerely at her and held her hand.

"Sade operates in her own little world most of the time, and even though Wren and I did everything we could to provide for her while she was living in London with the Kingstons, she's remained reluctant to let us in all the way."

"I've known her for less than a day, and she's imprinted on me like a baby duckling. I'm old enough to be her mom…"

"Be that as it may, it looks like you're the first friend she's ever had."

Spencer laughed in wonder. She'd never been able to recall having that profound of an affect on a child before.

When she brushed her hair out of her eyes, Melissa noticed something shiny on one of Spencer's fingers and she caught it in her own hand so she could investigate it better for herself.

"Spencer Autumn Rose Hastings, is this an _engagement_ ring?"

Spencer laughed again, music to Melissa's ears. "No, actually: it's a promise from Toby that when everything is finally over, he and I will get married and give the baby—and any of his or her future siblings—a better, safer, peaceful, and normal kind of life."

"You really love Toby, huh?"

Spencer nodded and rubbed soothing circles over her own belly because there were still times that she was in awe she was going to be a mother. "We've already known for awhile that we want to spend the rest of our lives together and have a family. The baby is just a... jump start, for lack of a better way to phrase it."

"So you're keeping it?"

"Absolutely. We're already in love with it."

Now Melissa had to fight harder than ever to not spill the beans.

"Just promise me that I can spoil all of your children rotten, and that you'll invite me to your wedding."

"Of _course_ I'll invite you—you're my big sister!" Spencer spontaneously hugged Melissa and gave her a back rub. "Don't tell Aria and the girls, but since you're going to be my kid's auntie, that means you get automatic spoiling rights."

"I'll be looking forward to that." Melissa pulled away and continued to hold Spencer's hands. "Do you realize that Sade genuinely loves you now?"

"Well, she stole my heart, so what can I do?" Spencer put their dirty forks in the sink and disposed of the now-empty salad container. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go watch my favorite little friend sleep."

Melissa shook her head and laughed softly. It was very weird to see Spencer with a maternal side, but surprisingly enough, it seemed to come naturally to her and suit her well.

Melissa wondered if Spencer even realized that.

"Spencer?"

The woman in question paused on the stairs and turned at the sound of her name. "Yes?"

"I love you."

Spencer smiled and almost came undone, but she returned Melissa's kindness from the bottom of her heart.

"I love you, too."

Melissa watched Spencer until she was out of sight before picking up her phone, which was now displaying a new message from Mona.

_'Are you in or out?'_

_'In. Let the circle be unbroken.'_

* * *

**Don't think I don't see all of those followers this story has :P will you all consider leaving a review? Just thought I'd ask ;)**


	7. Chapter 7

**For Alaina :)**

* * *

Melissa rose early the next morning to get ready for her meeting with Mona.

She ended up sleeping in her old room—it made her feel safer—and she'd collected Sade because she wanted her nearby. When Melissa woke up, Sade was fast asleep beside her, but there was no sign of Wren, meaning that he'd stayed at the hospital overnight. A voicemail on her phone confirmed that, and a text from Pam Fields told her that Veronica had stayed the night at her house. The lack of Spencer's presence meant that she was at school.

All of this meant that Sade was going to have to tag along with her mother to the Rear Window. Sade was already a little cranky because she hadn't adjusted to the time difference yet, but she also wasn't a morning person to begin with, just like Melissa and Spencer both. At least she'd slept off the last of her cold.

Needless to say, Sade was being an absolute troll by the time she and Melissa arrived at the Rear Window.

* * *

"Sade," Melissa said to her as they sat at a table by the window. "Are you okay?"

Sade said nothing.

"Oh, well." Melissa muttered as she handed Sade a plate with a blueberry muffin on it. "I can't say I didn't try."

Sade stayed silent but she started on her muffin as Melissa took a sip of her green tea and glanced at her watch; it was five minutes past the time that Mona had requested and she was only just now showing up to place her order.

Is this a way of her trying to set me up for something? Melissa thought. It wouldn't be the first time…

"Sorry I'm late!"

All dolled up as usual, and with one of her fancy handbags on her arm, Mona all but waltzed over to the

"I had a small spat with my parents, and I lost track of time."

"Uh-huh, sure. Where's your coffee?"

Just then, one of the baristas hurried over to Mona and handed her her order, telling her that she'd forgotten it at the counter. Mona thanked him and sat with Melissa and Sade.

"What's going on with you?" Melissa questioned, even more suspicious. "You're not the forgetful type."

Mona didn't answer that. She'd actually been having a really shitty morning, and there was no way that she was going to bear her soul to Melissa Josephine Hastings.

"Who's this?" Mona nodded to Sade. "I wanted you to come alone."

"You should've been a little more specific, then." Melissa jibed. "This is my daughter."

Melissa gave Sade a gentle nudge. "Baby, can you say something to Mona? She's mommy's friend."

"Something." Sade mumbled around mouthful of blueberry muffin.

"She's a funny one." Mona remarked.

"Get to it, Mona—I have errands to run, and you have school, don't you?"

"I have a free first period," Mona sneered, slipping right back into her true ways. "So I can take my time."

Melissa said nothing; one wrong word or move, and Mona would have Melissa in a corner she couldn't get out of. She'd already purposefully withheld Sade's name.

"I know about what happened between your parents in the hospital yesterday. We wouldn't want rumors to spread that Rosewood's most elite power couple is falling apart now, would we?"

"What _possible_ reason would you have to tell anyone that _my_ parents had a fight?"

"Because I know who burned your house down. And why."

"What? Who?"

Mona gave Melissa an 'as-if' look. "I own you. What makes you think I'd give you an answer so easily?"

"Whatever, Mona. Carry on."

"If you and Wren dig around, or if you get Spencer and her friends to do some digging around—in any way, shape, _or_ form—I _will_ find the right people, and the truth about your parents will be known in absolutely no time at all."

Mona drank her coffee. Melissa waited.

"And if you and Wren think about moving anywhere other than casa de Hastings, there will be more trouble."

Melissa pushed back her tea. Her appetite was gone, and she was also a tad rattled.

Satisfied that her work was done, Mona stood and gathered her things. She took a few steps away from the table before turning back and turning back to Melissa with a smirk on her face.

"And green tea? _Really?"_ Mona said sardonically. "I thought you all in the Hastings clan were _smart." _

"What are you getting at?"

"Melissa, I've know you for my entire life, and I know that you take your coffee black without anything in it." Mona's eyes flickered down to the the long scarf covering Melissa's middle. "And a scarf, too? You really need to think of a better way to hide that baby bump of yours, otherwise… a person more _'eccentric'_ than I am could find out about your precious cargo. Just saying."

Again, Melissa said nothing, but she found herself rubbing her belly and wondering what it would be like to have a normal sort of life.

When Mona was finally gone, Melissa looked back at her mini-me who had finished her muffin and was now drinking her apple juice.

"What do you think of Mona?"

Sade put down her juice box and actually answered, although in a blunt manner. "She's weird, mummy."

"It isn't nice to say things like that about people, Sade," sighed Melissa. "But yeah—Mona's weird."

_DING!_

Wondering who could be texting her before nine on weekday morning, Melissa checked the new text.

_'I'd listen to Mona if I were you. —A'_

* * *

Melissa decided to take Sade exploring after breakfast. Rosewood was the little girl's new home now, so she might as well start adjusting to it.

Unsurprisingly, they ended up at McCuller's Toys, the local toy store.

Sade was drawn to the building by the bright sign and all of the wonderful toys and trinkets in the display window. Normally, the toddler was very stoic, but for one moment, there was nothing but joy in her eyes as she took the sight in. Melissa knew she shouldn't spoil Sade, what with the baby on the way, but if something made her happy, Melissa would do anything to make Sade's happiness last longer.

It was just as well that they stopped at McCuller's toys, though, because Melissa knew the shop owner very well.

Her name was Alaina McCullers, and she was wife to Nick McCullers—a local church deacon—as well as mother of Paige McCullers, the current flame/ex-girlfriend of Emily Fields.

More to the point, Alaina had been Melissa's confidant for eighteen years, first going back to Melissa's first pregnancy (how they met in the first place was a long story). Alaina also knew the truth about Spencer, and she'd even been there to comfort Melissa after had miscarried baby Taylor. She even knew about Sade, but hadn't met her yet.

In any event, Alaina kept every last one of Melissa's mysteries, and was even a listening ear when Melissa couldn't talk to her own mother.

She was like an angel.

* * *

"Auntie Alaina?" Melissa called out as they entered. "It's Melissa and Sade!"

There was a very audible squeal of delight from somewhere in the back of the shop and before Melissa could fully process what was happening, Alaina—who looked like the future version of Paige—was pulling her into a warm hug. Startled by the sudden rush of activity, Sade ran over to the nearest toy display.

"Melissa, it's really good to see you!" Alaina chirped as she pulled away as she donned a serious face. "I heard about what happened to yours and Wren's house; you know how fast word spreads in Rosewood."

"Unfortunately, yeah."

"Is there anything that can be done for it? Your house, I mean."

"Totally destroyed." Melissa answered, shaking her head. "The only upside is that none of our belongings had been moved in."

"Where are you all staying in the mean time?"

"Wren, Sade, and I are living in my parents' barn house."

Alaina looked around and spotted Sade sitting on the floor, amusing herself with a complex Rubik's Cube.

"Is that your sweet Sade?"

Melissa nodded proudly. "Sade's my clone, but has Wren's accent… and it's also best if you don't disturb her, but I'll introduce you to her before we go."

Alaina nodded and then looked her friend straight in the eye. "Have you told Spencer that she's your flesh and blood?"

"No."

Alaina raised her eyebrows. "Then when were you at least going to tell _me_ that you're expecting again, sweetheart?"

"I— how did you know?"

"I have six grown children, including twins." Alaina winked. "I've seen it all. You're also showing, that scarf of yours be damned."

Melissa laughed and pulled off the accessory, stuffing it into her purse and then framing her belly in her hands. "Yeah—I'm having another baby, but we're going to wait until I'm officially in the safe zone before we even consider figuring out how to tell Sade. If Spencer figures it out—which I have no doubt that she will—then more power to her."

"Come pick out a stuffed animal for your little one—it's inventory day, and we just got a new shipment of really soft plush animals, perfect for a baby's first toy."

"Auntie, I—"

"Stop that, Melissa. I insist."

"Alright, alright." She laughed before turning to Sade. "Come on, my tiny love. Mommy's going this way."

Still transfixed by the Rubik's Cube, and deep in the middle of trying to crack it, Sade stood and allowed Melissa to steer her; she was having too much fun. Melissa just laughed more—Spencer had also been very handy with Rubik's Cubes at that age, too.

Alaina left Melissa to her own devices, and just as Melissa settled on a green elephant, she heard some shifting noises from a nearby shelf. She certainly wasn't expecting who she saw.

"Paige, hi."

The teenager smiled awkwardly. Next to herself, Melissa was the only other known 'rogue' member of Mona's army, but they'd never been this close to each other before. In some weird way, Paige had always respected her.

"Hey, Melissa." To her credit, Paige was unflappable. "I didn't hear you come in. What's up?"

"Oh, so you two have met before!"

Alaina had returned to see the two interacting. She could also see with just one look that both girls had some kind of prior history with each other, but she decided it would be best if she didn't pry. In a town like this, the less you knew, the better.

"Yeah, we've met before." shrugged Paige. "So what?"

"Don't you get sassy with with me today, Paige Marie McCullers."

Paige rolled her eyes. "Mom, do you know how _weird_ it is to tell your friends that you missed a day of school because you had to help with inventory at the family _toy store?"_

"Blah, blah, blah." Alaina teased her baby girl. "The sooner you finish with your current project, the sooner I can send you to the Grille to pick up lunch. We still have all of the trinkets for the knick-knack bins to sort through."

Paige let out a disappointed sigh and playfully threw her dusting rag at her mother. "Okay, but if you see a trail of tears on the floor soon, that'll your cue to send me a rescue raft."

"And now you're just stalling, Paige Marie. Say goodbye to Melissa and Sade."

Paige did as she was told as she moved back to the action figure area of the store, she put her earbuds back into hears and pressed play on her phone—she was listening to the new Lindsey Stirling album and loving it.

She soon fell back into a groove, but it was just as quickly jarred by a new text.

_'Go to the Hastings house tomorrow. Be there, or be square, bitch. —A'_


	8. Chapter 8

After a long day at the hospital, there was nothing that Wren wanted to do more than go home, have a shower, and then just lay in bed with Melissa, holding her.

Yes, he had strayed from the line on many numerous occasions—even after they'd broken off the engagement—but everything was different now, and because of that, he knew he was going to be _good._

Wren also knew that Melissa Josephine was the love of his life, and that they'd been given a second chance. No bloody way was he going to squander it. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with Melissa. More than anything.

But no… the luxury of cuddling with his love (and maybe even make love with her) had to wait because once agin, real life got in the way.

* * *

Quiet came eventually, though.

* * *

"How was work?" Melissa asked as Wren sat on the bed with her. "Must've really been something if it kept you overnight."

"Understatement of the year, my darling." Wren gently pried Melissa's iPad from her and put it on the bedside table before laying his head in her lap. "Long story short: another fine Rosewood citizen has been put into Radley for their own good."

"Okay, I'll take that." Melissa held one of Wren's hands in hers and gently kissed his fingers. "You've been a little distant since we were in London. Are you upset?"

"No!" The doctor backpedaled immediately and sat on his knees, leaning forward and kissing Melissa deeply and patiently on the lips. "No, no, no—that isn't it at all!"

"Then what—oh, don't. What if Sade—"

"She Who Sleeps Like The Dead?" Wren questioned, stealing a kiss. "Let me show you love, even just for a minute."

"Hey!" Melissa protested, laughing. "You can just day something serious and then veer way off to the left and start distracting me with se—ohhh…"

Wren had been covering Melissa's mouth, jaw, and throat with gentle kisses while she'd been talking, but then without any warning, he'd dipped lower, nuzzling and kissing at her ample cleavage (which was well on display, courtesy of her nightie). And because Wren was a man, his boxers were getting uncomfortable.

Melissa realized this and flipped Wren over so that he was on the bottom and she was on the top.

"Why must you be so minxish?" Wren asked.

"Because it's fun. Tell me what you're thinking."

Wren let out a groan as his groin area hardened even more. "I was just thinking—everything is changing, Melissa, and on some days, I still wonder if someone will do something to one of us, or Sade or Spencer, or even anyone else we care about."

"You mean because we're allegiant to Mona?"

"Precisely."

"I also worry," Melissa admitted honestly. "But after I talked with her this morning, I went away with the impression that she—nor anyone else—will be bothering us."

Wren raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? What did she want?"

And so Melissa told him.

"So Mona is blackmailing you? Again?"

Melissa nodded. "And this time, we have to _let_ her because you're correct—everything as we know it is changing because we have a family now, and because it looks like Spencer and her posse are almost right on top of the truth about Bethany… I know they know all about Mona's true self by now, but I wouldn't be able to handle it if any of them got hurt any more because of us."

"That's why we'll fight this war until it's all over, and if there's one thing I know for sure, it's that we can let it get in the way of our happiness. Things will never be normal until A and A's army completely dead, or at the very least, destroyed."

"That's true."

Wren tried to sit up, but Melissa held fast, squeezing his groin with her thighs.

"Come now, my little minx." A deep groan escaped Wren's throat. "Who's being the distraction this time?"

"I am," purred Melissa, rolling her hips and grinning slyly when she felt him become completely erect under her touch. "But you know how my libido gets when I'm pregnant."

"Indeed."

Wren silently counted to five—anything to relieve the tension in his boxers—and tried again, holding both of Melissa's hands in his and looking her straight in the eyes.

"Melissa, I love you with all of my heart, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I know we both fell away from each other before, but I want to make things right this time."

All of the teasing and seduction took a nosedive out the window when Melissa realized what Wren was getting at.

"What exactly are you asking me?"

"What I'm asking," Wren finally managed to sit up and keep Melissa steady in his lap. "Is if at some point down the road, you would be interested in actually getting married this time? This is not a proposal, just a thought."

Tears formed in Melissa's eyes, and she nodded vigorously. "Yes, Wren—absolutely!"

Wren just about melted and hugged Melissa close. "I love you so much."

The two lovers both stayed like that, foreheads touching and quietly exchanging promises and 'I love yous' for a few moments until a loud rumbling broke the silence, causing Melissa to get the giggles.

"I guess the baby wants food."

"Where are you going?"

Wren's words came out in a near whine as Melissa dismounted him and started putting on pants and a sweater to make herself look decent.

"I'm going to the house because there's more food there." She glanced down at Wren's shorts to see a 'tent pole' had sprung up and that he already had a hand down his boxers, relieving his discomfort. "I'll shut the door on the way out, but still—don't be too loud."

Wren just nodded absently. He was already gone.

* * *

When she got into the main house, Melissa saw that both Veronica and Spencer were in the kitchen. Spencer already had a bowl of what looked like Chunky Monkey flavor, and Veronica was just putting the finishing touches on her own bowl when she saw Melissa.

"Hi, honey." She chirped. "Would you like a bowl of Chunky Monkey, too?"

"Sure. That actually sounds really good right now."

Melissa joined her mother and her daughter, sitting down at the kitchen island.

"Neither of you could sleep?"

"Something like that." Veronica handed Melissa a bowl of ice cream and put the carton away before it melted. "Are you okay?"

Melissa nodded and had a taste of her ice cream before casting a glance at Spencer.

"What?" Spencer instinctively pulled her bowl closer. "You _have_ your own!"

Melissa laughed. "Why aren't you with Toby or the girls?"

"Toby had to leave to do a job in Killingworth, Aria's with her mom, Hanna is having a night in or something like that, Ali is… somewhere, and Emily is the best cuddler, but I just felt like staying in… and the baby really wants ice cream."

"Fair enough."

Melissa and Spencer continued to talk pleasantries, for once just truly getting along, and Veronica watched them as she at her own ice cream.

She would do positively anything to protect Melissa and Spencer because they were her treasures, the children she once never thought she'd even have to time to have, but lately—since Alison's return—she'd started having second thoughts about how she was living her life, especially her marriage.

Toxic would be the word to describe that, and she wanted out.

"Mom? Hello?"

Veronica jumped when she saw Spencer wave a hand in her line of vision.

"Sorry, what?"

"Is it true—did you and dad have a fight while Sade and I were in the hospital?"

Veronica nodded. "Yeah, it's true. The short of it is that he isn't going to be coming home for awhile."

Normally, Spencer Hastings wasn't one to settle for the short version of the truth, but but something told her that that would be a good idea right now.

"You guys have been fighting and arguing a lot ever since this whole thing with Ali started," Spencer observed. "But now it's like it's getting worse."

"Do you really think so?"

"Yes. Yes, I do." Spencer turned to Melissa for backup. "What do you think?"

"Same as you."

Melissa had done a lot of wondering over the status of her parents' marriage over the past few years, but she really didn't want to talk about marriage—at all—with her mother at the moment.

She decided to settle for watching her mother talk to Spencer.

Speaking of whom, Spencer was now regarding the lawyer with an interested expression. "Mom, why have you been so flighty around me since I left the hospital? This is almost as weird as when Melissa gets emotional with me; are you mad because I ruined our family's reputation?"

Veronica pushed her bowl of ice cream aside and addressed Spencer seriously.

"First of all, Spencer, there are never going to be enough ways for me to say that I love you, respect you, and truly enjoy being your mother. Do you understand?"

Spencer nodded and ate her own ice cream, already drawn in.

"I know that compared to your friends' mothers, I must seem old fashioned, but that's just the way Chelsea and I were brought up." (Chelsea was Veronica's younger sister) "But you know what? On my side of the family—the Spencer clan—Chelsea and I were the rebels. Well, I had my moments, but it was more her than me."

"Then is that why I'm called Spencer? Because of you two?"

"More or less, and also because I want you to know where your boldness and determination comes from." Veronica took a steadying breath and continued. "I couldn't escape my parents' ways and rules forever, but Chelsea ran away from home and never went back."

"I know that part of the story." said Spencer. "Do you wish that you'd gone with her?"

"I do."

"Why?"

"Because I had already married your father by the time I was the age that you are now."

Spencer's eyes widened in shock, but she didn't say anything. Melissa, on the other hand, continued to listen.

"At any rate, what I'm trying to say is that you are ten times the person I was at your age when it came to making choices because my parents were that strict. Had this been a year or two ago that you were pregnant, but now you're eighteen—an adult, and one of the strongest people I've ever known and loved. If anything, you gave our family's reputation a much-needed kick in the pants."

Poor Spencer had no idea what to say. What was happening?

Melissa watched, almost jealous when Veronica comforted Spencer, but she controlled herself. This was not the time to blow her biggest secret.

"Mom," Spencer said suddenly. "Are you and dad going to get a divorce?"

"I don't know. Melissa actually asked me the same thing, and she said she didn't know how she'd feel if that happened?"

"And what about you? You're the one who's considering it."

"To be honest, I'd feel very relieved."

"Then do it."

"Spence, it's not that simple—"

"No, but it'll make you happy and cure your misery, do it."

Spencer's words were actually making sense. "How would _you_ feel?"

"I'd be relieved, too. It would mean that you and dad finally got real and admitted the truth: the Hastings are _broken."_

"We are, aren't we?"

Spencer nodded. "I've thought about that for ages, actually."

"So have I." Melissa tacked on, inspired by her daughter's confidence.

Veronica sighed shakily and then admitted something that she'd only ever admitted to Pam, Ella, and Ashley.

"This is who I really am—this regular, vulnerable person—and I think I'd be more than a little lost without you two, even though I'm supposed to be the mother." Veronica looked from Melissa to Spencer, holding their hands. "I love both of you forever, and I don't know how or when, but I'll find some way to fix this crazy mess."

Being the younger and the more headstrong of the trio, Spencer was the first one to get gushy and hug Veronica, telling her that she loved her. Melissa hugged Veronica, too, but she found herself wondering about her mother's 'crazy mess' phrasing.

Had she gotten A texts, too?

…nah, that was absurd. It had been years in the time since A had bothered any of the parents.

But still, the answer to the question was yes.

If Melissa had seen her mother even just an hour ago, she would've seen her staring at her phone screen in confusion.

_'I am everywhere and nowhere at the same time. But don't tell. —A' _


	9. Chapter 9

Paige Marie McCullers was as loving and loyal and protective as they came, and when it really came down to it, she would fight tooth and nail to protect what or who she dearly loved, and in this case, it would always be her precious Emily Jin-Kyong Reyna Fields, before all else.

Of course, Paige had her own demon to deal with in the form of Alison L. DiLaurentis, and although it was awful for her to say, when she got word that Alison had vanished and then died, she was actually kind of relieve because it meant all of those years of relentless teasing were finally at an end.

But no—that bitch had nine lives.

* * *

In the meantime, Mona Vanderwaal redoubled her efforts in building up her army and she offered Paige a spot when she saw how loyal the swimmer was, and she leaned into her even more when she realized that she could use Paige's crush on Emily Fields to her advantage.

For awhile, Paige went along with Mona's different projects and along the way, people along the lines of Lucas Gottesman and Cindy and Mindy Trucoll began looking at her with fear in their eyes. Paige would be lying if she said she didn't enjoy that.

She also grew close enough to Mona to see that the girl was more than a little unhinged and actually dangerous.

She tried to get out, but Mona caught on and threatened to cause real damage to Emily and her family if she went through with it. So Paige had no choice but to stay.

Mona owned her.

Around this time, Paige noticed that Melissa and Wren had also worked their way into the Inner Circle and not only that, but that they were both up to something. Inspired, Paige befriended Toby Cavanaugh and kept him close—just in case—but she found Caleb Rivers all by herself and brought him to Mona's attention, and going on from there to form an alliance with him behind Mona's back.

* * *

These days, Paige was too far into Mona's Inner Circle to even think about leaving, but she was also scared for hers and Emily's lives now, so she just decided to lay low and wait until the right time to strike.

* * *

But then she got that text from A, telling her to go the Hastings house. Paige was utterly confused, but orders were orders, no?

* * *

"Paige? What are you doing over here?"

Paige was walking towards the Hastings house but had parked a few houses away—purposefully avoiding Emily's—because she needed some time to think of what to say, should someone other than Melissa or her beau/baby daddy Wren open the door. She didn't know much about the people who resided in the Hastings house, other than that all of the adults had really excellent BS meters.

The person who had called out to her was Caleb.

"What are you doing over here?" He repeated, catching up to her and matching her stride.

"What about _you?"_ She challenged.

"I got a text from A that told me to come here today."

Paige was taken aback. "Really?"

Caleb nodded. "You got the text, too, didn't you?"

"Yep." The brunette indicated the well-stocked gift basket hanging off her arm. "I heard about that happened to Melissa and Wren because of what happened to their house, and I figured that food would be a good way to get past the front door to check on them. Do you know who torched their house?"

"I have an idea, but I don't want to talk about it out in the open."

Paige agreed, kind of admiring Caleb for his ability to think straighter than her.

"Just come on," the unlikely duo was walking onto the front porch now. "And cover for me if I say something stupid."

"I can do that."

Caleb rang the doorbell and Veronica answered it, looking puzzled. She'd met Caleb on a few occasions and knew of Paige, but she couldn't imagine what they were doing at her house, much less _together._

"Paige McCullers and Caleb Rivers, right?"

They both nodded in response.

"If you're looking for Spencer, she's out with her friends right now."

"Actually, Missus Hastings," Paige said hurriedly. "We're looking for Melissa."

"Alright." Veronica decided to just roll with what was going on. "I think she's in the kitchen. Do you know the way?"

Caleb did, so Paige followed him with Veronica tailing behind, soon disappearing to another part of the house. Paige and Caleb were nearly to the kitchen—but still out of sight—when Caleb put an arm out, signaling Paige to stop and listen.

She did as she was told and was rewarded with what sounded like the tail end of one of Melissa's phone calls.

"Dad, _no! _I don't _want_ to, not after how _awful_ you were to us!"

Pause.

"Don't you _dare_ blackmail me—I _still_ have _plenty_ of blackmail material I can use against you!" Melissa hissed. "Where do you think I got the ability to use those kinds of tactics from?"

Melissa paused yet again and then let out an exasperated sigh.

"I'll come, but Wren can't because he's on late shifts at the hospital all month. And yes, I'll get childcare for Sade."

Pause.

"Whatever. See you at seven."

There was a distinct beep and then the clatter of plastic hitting marble as Melissa hung up her phone dropped her phone onto to countertop. Before she could even say anything to Wren, Paige let out a massive sneeze, blowing hers and Caleb's cover.

"Who's there?" Melissa called out. "Don't hide!"

Paige and Caleb entered the kitchen to see Melissa and Wren seated side-by-side at the kitchen island and had two different reactions when they saw the newcomers—Melissa just gave a dejected sigh and Wren refrained from rolling his eyes as he motioned for Paige and Caleb to sit opposite them.

"Well, if it isn't the Wonder Twins. What do you two want?"

Paige sat and put her gift basket on the tabletop. "I heard about what happened to your guys' house, and I thought I'd bring something over, just in case. My mom even threw in two baked dishes."

Melissa quickly located the meals and put them away in the freezer before sitting back with the others. Her curiosity about the large wicker basket of goodies won out against her usual antagonistic behavior she felt towards most people affiliated with Spencer or Mona as she poked through the rest of the contents of her basket.

"Are there any saltines or any other kinds of crackers in there?" She asked as she fetched a water bottle out of the fridge for herself.

"Saltines, Ritz, and Club crackers." Paige confirmed. "Knock yourself out."

Melissa broke into the saltine crackers and happily munched on a few, topping them with some cheese and sausage slices she found tucked into the basket.

Wren spoke up, addressing Caleb. "Did you decide to come check on us, too?"

"Yeah. Is that really so strange?"

Wren had a strong feeling that A had told Caleb and Paige to come, but he wasn't going to say anything about it.

"Stranger than seeing you here without Hanna, or Paige without Emily."

Deciding that he wasn't going to put up with any bullshit from Wren or even Melissa, Caleb narrowed his eyes as he spoke directly to the doctor.

"Let's get something straight: I fly solo most of the time, but I know that you, Melissa, and Paige are all affiliated with Mona and the A Team. I also know that none of you are awful enough to turn against Hanna or Spencer, or anyone they hold dear."

"What's your point?"

"That Paige and I already have an understanding about being allies when working together to protect the people we care about." Caleb explained. "We want all of this to be over as much as you do—preferably before someone else dies—because we're tired, and we just want to finish senior year, and live to see graduation and everything that comes with that part of life. If you are both willing to risk it, Paige and I will include you two in our operations and plans to topple everything once and for all."

If it hadn't been for the fact that Melissa had just washed down her snack with a drink of water, she would have no doubt choked or gagged on whatever was in her mouth.

"Funny you should say that, Caleb."

"How do you figure?"

"Because just the other day, Wren and I were seriously discussing recruiting the two of you into our fold, the one that neither Mona nor A are aware of."

"We're in." Paige said immediately. "Anyone else to consider?"

"Only the Gottesman boy—"

"Not Lucas." Paige and Caleb said in unison.

"Why not?" Melissa asked.

"For starters," Paige remarked. "He's freaking _weird—"_

Caleb interrupted her juvenile reasoning with a more important reason. "Lucas can spook as easy as a horse, and if someone like Hanna notices, he sings like a canary. To anyone."

"Okay, fine. It'll just be me, Wren, and the pair of you." Melissa looked to her beau. "What do you think, my love?"

"No Lucas, and just us four." Wren agreed. "I guess today is the start of a new alliance."

"Yes, but," Caleb held his hands in a time out position. "Just what are we supposed to do if Missus Hastings begins asking us questions? She _did_ open the door and let us in."

"I'll think of something if she says anything." Melissa waved a hand of dismissively. "How much of my phone conversation did you overhear?"

"Only enough to know that you were talking to your dad, you have blackmail material against him, and he's making you go somewhere that you don't want to." Paige ticked everything off on her fingers as she spoke. "What's the deal with you and him, anyway?"

"Never you mind for now." Melissa said a little sharper than she intended. "We can't let anybody know that this is even happening, particularly Spencer and her friends."

"And God forbid people such as Ezra Fitz or Alison DiLaurentis finding out. Mona would be the least of our worries." Wren tacked on, sliding two pieces of paper with information on them across the top of the counter to them. "These are mine and Melissa's numbers; put them in your phones and then dispose of the papers, post haste."

"Intense, much?" Caleb questioned.

Never having been a fan of Caleb's whole 'smart aleck' routine, Melissa's next words were a warning. "Don't make us regret choosing your side."

"I'll be good." vowed Caleb solemnly. "I promise."

"And what about you?" Melissa asked of Paige.

"I'll be good, too, and I'll not say a word to Emily or any of her friends about this." She pocketed her slip of paper. "I guess this means that one of you will be contacting us the next time we have to meet?"

"That's correct." Melissa glanced at the microwave clock and cringed. "It's already five-fifteen; we need to get ready for the evening now."

Paige and Caleb nodded in understanding and let Wren show them out.

After Paige parted ways with Caleb, she got in her car and drove into town.

She had a sudden desire be with Emily, to see her, kiss her, hold her.

Sure, they were 'just friends' at the moment, but that didn't mean that Paige would ever stop loving her.

Emily was her heart.


	10. Chapter 10

After Paige and Caleb left, Melissa and Wren went out to the barn to get ready for their nights out.

However—while Wren had gotten completely ready, Melissa was perched on a corner of their bed in only her skivvies. Her underpants were a little tight around her middle because she was definitely starting to show now. Her bra and tank top were also beginning to get snug, too.

Maternity clothes shopping was definitely in her future.

Because Melissa was feeling a little stuffy, she had pulled back her tank top over her belly, just under her breasts, to let her bump get some air.

A smile soon graced Melissa's lips when she felt the baby wiggle around inside her womb, even if the movements were slight.

* * *

"What's on your mind?" Wren was kneeling in front of Melissa, putting a hand on her thigh. "Why are you smiling?"

"Because I can feel the baby being a wiggleworm. It reminds me that everything is going to be okay."

Wren pressed a kiss to Melissa's knee and smiled sweetly up at her. "Of course it will. Like we've said: things are changing, but for the _good. _We will make it though the madness—it's just going to take time."

Comforted, Melissa nodded and ran a hand along the underside of her belly, reveling in the feeling of knowing that she was growing a human being in there.

Wren brought Melissa out of her thoughts by pressing a few more loving kisses to her bump before he readjusted her tank top over it.

"Why haven't you chosen something to wear?" Wren inquired as he stood. "Are you really that upset about having to go to dinner with Peter?"

"No." Melissa sighed heavily. "It's just that minus the utter necessities, I haven't had time to go maternity clothes shopping since we've came home, or even since we found out about our little stowaway. Anything I have in my closet is going to be snug."

"Then we will make sure you rectify that issue soon—maybe a trip into the city, and you take Spencer, too?"

Wren crossed the room to their closet and after a few moments of careful pondering of his better half's closet, he pulled out an especially nice turquoise number.

"How about this one?" He brought it over and held it out. "This one is nice and 'loose, but not too loose,' if I remember your exact phrasing."

Melissa lit up as she recalled this and took the dress, kissing Wren as form of thanks.

Wren had to be on the road sooner than Melissa did, so he left the Hastings property before her and the next time she looked at the time, her watch read six-fifteen, meaning that she was going to do something she didn't often do: ask for help.

* * *

"Mom? Can I come in?"

Melissa was in the doorway of the large study Veronica had at the back of the house. Growing up, Melissa had spent many an hour playing or just reading while Veronica worked at her desk. Peter's office, across the hall, had always been off-limits. To this day, Melissa still had reservations about going inside at all.

Today, Veronica had been at her desk for quite awhile, researching domestic adoption. She was ready for a break, though, so she closed her laptop as she stood and approached her daughter.

"Of course, Melissa," Veronica eyed all of the things her daughter was carrying. "But let's go to the back room so we don't wake Sade."

Melissa agreed—Sade was tuckered out on Veronica's couch, but would be waking soon.

When Melissa had been pregnant with Sade, she'd decided to grow out her hair and three years later, it remained long enough so that Veronica had an easy time of styling it into a simple bun updo while Melissa busied herself with tying the sash on her dress and putting on her jewelry since she'd already taken care of her make up in the barn.

"Wren stopped by on his way out the door," Veronica said. "And he came to check on Sade, but also mentioned that you're on the way to dinner with your father?"

Melissa tightened the bow on her sash and nodded. "That is correct."

"Should I be worried?"

Veronica finished Melissa's hair and then held her hand for balance as she quickly put on her flats.

"I am more than happy to babysit Sade, but I just want to know what your father wants."

"Probably to just put to bed what happened at the hospital." She said when she was steady again.

And he's probably going to try to win my loyalty with something, Melissa thought.

"Does this have anything to do with why Paige and Caleb were here?"

"It could, but I'm not really sure." Melissa answered honestly.

"And just what did they want?" Veronica draped Melissa's black dress wrap over her shoulders as a finishing touch. "You and Wren sure keep some strange company."

We've had stranger, Melissa found herself thinking.

"Paige came to drop off a food basket for us because she heard about what happened to our house. Her mom even put in some homemade frozen meals for us."

"Remind me to call Alaina so I can thank her… I miss that woman…"

Veronica quit the nostalgia quickly when Melissa looked at her with raised eyebrows; it really creeped her girls out when she turned soft completely out of left field.

"Right. May I ask what Caleb Rivers was doing here with her? He always looks like a harbinger of doom."

"He tagged along with her because they're already friends, I guess." Melissa shrugged. "They're a strange pair, but they were just being nice."

"Is this going to be something that we're not mentioning to Spencer, that Hanna's boyfriend and Emily's girlfriend came calling for you and Wren?"

"Absolutely. Spencer would sprout fangs and draw blood if she knew before I explained things to her."

"And when will that be?"

"Damned if I know."

Veronica sighed and kissed Melissa on her forehead. "Well, I just hope that you get the courage—or whatever it is you feel that you're lacking—to talk to Spencer and tell her the truth sooner, rather than later."

Melissa didn't answer that, instead changing the subject and presenting herself to Veronica for approval.

"How do I look? Like I'm going on a dinner date with my dad?"

This time, Veronica smiled and nodded. "Yes, although 'radiant' is the word I'd use to really describe how you look."

Melissa beamed and kissed her mother on the cheek. "I won't be out too long. I love you, mom."

"I love you, too, honey." Veronica waved as Melissa left. "See you later."

* * *

By the rime Melissa had arrived at the elite country club near the Rosewood outskirts and tipped Max the valet for parking her car, she saw she was just on time for meeting with Peter.

Before she could get any further past the immediate inside waiting area, her phone dinged. She had a new text.

_'Jason isn't the only younger sibling you have. The answer is right in front of you. Kisses. —A'_

Quite disturbed, Melissa made a mental note as she put her phone away to call Wren the moment she had a chance.

She'd known the truth about Jason for a long while now, and that not only was she related to him and Alison, but also that Bethany chick, too. But what the hell? Did she really have a _fourth_ half sibling? Just how many times _had_ her father been unfaithful to her mother?

And who the hell was this fourth person?

Truth be told, Melissa felt more than a little unsettled in knowing that this person was right under her nose and possibly had been for years. Melissa grew even more creeped out when she realized that it was more than likely someone associated with A, Mona, Alison, the NAT Club, or even her own list of 'associates,' as she'd always called them.

Damn. This was going to keep her up tonight.


	11. Chapter 11

"Melissa?"

She looked up to see Peter approaching her, and although she let him help her up, she made no move to embrace him.

"Hi, dad. Where are we sitting?"

"In the back, by the picture window."

As Melissa followed her father to the aforementioned area, a knot of dread grew in her stomach: the place Peter had mentioned was very secluded, meaning that he just wanted to talk business, away from prying eyes and ears.

They were almost to their table when—

"Peter? Melissa?"

Standing before them was Jason DiLaurentis, completely dressed to the nines in a fancy suit with an equally fancy pair of shoes and a nice tie. Standing next to him in a very beautiful red-orange evening tent dress, with her hair done up hair done up in a fancy hair style involving a headband, and an arm threaded through Jason's was none other than CeCe Drake.

"What's happening?" Peter asked in confusion.

That's when Melissa remembered something important. "Today is Jason's birthday."

She gave her little brother a cursory nod. "Happy birthday, Jason."

Melissa turned to Peter. "That's mine and Jason's old friend, CeCe. It looks like she tagged along with him to dinner."

Jason laughed at his sister's blunt phrasing, but introduced CeCe to Peter. "I know you already know Melissa, but this is her father, Peter Hastings. They both live next door with Veronica and Spencer."

"Hello." CeCe shook Peter's hand and gave him a warm smile that only Melissa and Jason read as cold and calculating. "It's very nice to meet you, Mister Hastings."

"Please—call me Peter."

Melissa immediately recognized what Peter was doing: this war they were all in had no end in sight at the moment, and Peter knew he was turning into a one-man island, so he was doing anything—and everything—he could to take Jason's allies away from him. Peter Hastings played dirty, but he was who Melissa had gotten it from, no two ways about it.

"It's nice to see you again, CeCe." Melissa said said pointedly. "Are you Jason's date?"

"Yes, but not in the classical sense." CeCe laughed as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, like she was trying to keep her balance or like she was carrying a great weight. "It's my birthday, too, so Jason and I are celebrating ours together because we haven't done that in awhile. Now if you'll pardon us, we have a table waiting."

As the pairs parted ways and Melissa followed Peter to their own table, she found herself lost in thought immediately.

Clearly, CeCe had been steering the conversation away from herself.

On top of that, the way that CeCe had looked at Peter was very unsettling. Melissa knew most of CeCe's tricks, so she knew that CeCe wasn't the type to go after married men, but she had still eyed Peter the way that a predator looks at its prey.

And just why _had_ CeCe come back? She wouldn't have risked it—especially being out in the open—unless it was _really_ important.

Melissa couldn't help but feel as though her old friend's reappearance was the sign of some big plan in the works… or a warning.

* * *

Just of Melissa had thought, Peter attempted to win her loyalty with new piece of jewelry, in this case a very beautiful diamond necklace that she had once noticed during a day out together in Philadelphia a few months ago.

Knowing her father the way she did and that he would drag this on until he drove her crazy, Melissa spoke up after their salad course had been finished.

"So why did you ask me here?" Melissa ran her fingers over the necklace. "To apologize?"

"Amongst other things. Mostly, we need to set a few things right."

"Like what?"

"Don't you ever tell Spencer who she really is."

"And why not? She's old enough to know!"

"Because she'll have another breakdown, and last time, it almost made her unravel _completely. _Do you know how hard it was to start thinking of alternative explanations when people started asking us questions?"

"No, because as you can recall, I saw Spencer when she was in Radley before you and mom did; and _that_ was hard enough, because I'm her _mother! _And, as I know you know, I was 'tucked away' in Radley for 'exhaustion' just before that!"

Melissa Josephine Hastings had bipolar disorder, a fact that she didn't broadcast, and every once in awhile, the illness got the best of her. She'd been to Radley and other psych wards enough times to know that Radley was her favorite because it was close to home.

_"That_ was for your own good, and you know it, so don't stir that pot." Peter shot back. "If Spencer knew who she is, she would tell her friends, and a name on that roster is Alison DiLaurentis. _That_ girl is nothing but trouble."

"Like that's anything new."

"Melissa, I'm serious: Alison is conniving, scheming, and manipulative—just like her parents—but if she finds out that Spencer is your daughter, she will bleed my pockets _dry!"_

"Is that what this is about?" Melissa scoffed. "You're scared that a sociopathic teenage girl is going to _blackmail_ you?"

"She's crazy, and you've been warned."

Melissa prepped a good answer but it was cut short when the waitress arrived to take their orders. Once they were alone again, Peter changed changed the subject.

"Is that CeCe girl anyone we need to worry about?"

There was no way in the world that Melissa would ever be able to forget her past with CeCe, but she still maintained control of the conversation.

"If you're asking whose team she's on, she used to be on Ali's, but she's far removed from it and flying solo now."

"Good." Peter nodded, his own mind already elsewhere. "Melissa, I need to tell you something."

The tone in which Peter spoke told Melissa that he was going to drop a bombshell or something on her, but they were once again interrupted, this time by the waitress bringing their appetizers and actually hungry now, Melissa began eating her salad, purposefully not letting her father be able to get any sort of answer from her.

"Don't think I don't remember the 'stuff your face' method you started when you were little." He said when they finished and set their dishes aside.

"Then what do you want to say?"

"First, I'd appreciate if you acted like the grown up you are."

"I'm listening."

"As I'm sure you've noticed noticed over these past years, your mother and I have been growing apart. There is no way to fix it anymore, and believe me—we've tried. This is in the works right now, but the second I can get all of the papers drawn up, I'm going to ask her for a divorce."

Melissa actually laughed at this, although it came it out cold and hollow.

"What's the matter with you?" Peter demanded. "This is no laughing matter!"

"It's just a bummer that you and mom don't talk to each other about things that really matter." Melissa reached for her water goblet and took a sip. "It's a damn shame. Where would you live?"

"I don't know," Peter admitted. "Because the house we live in now is your mother's. Did you know what?"

Melissa shook her head. "No."

"Veronica inherited it from her parents when she turned eighteen. You were born there during a blizzard."

"Any more history lessons or bombshells?" Melissa snarked, holding a hand to her belly as the baby reacted strongly to her elevated heartbeat. "Do you have another family? Besides us and Jason and Ali?"

"Alison isn't mine—"

"Of course not," Melissa set her wanted goblet down before she threw the water at Peter. "But Ali and Jason are a package deal, so she might as well be. Do you have another family, or not? What about a mistress?"

"No more children," (That I know of, Peter thought) "But there is a woman I've been seeing—"

"While you're still married to mom?"

If Melissa hadn't started this conversation off by feeling scandalized, she was definitely feeling it now.

"Even if you and mom _are_ growing apart, there's no way that that isn't _cheating! _How _could_ you?"

All Melissa could think about now would be how destroyed her mother was going to be when she found out.

"You watch yourself, and don't you dare tell anyone before I do."

"Or else what? You'll put me on a plane to England or France? Again?"

"Well no, but—"

"Don't say Radley. Don't." Melissa stared her father down. "I have a guy who I want to spend the rest of my life with, children I'd fight for and die for, and I finally started to build a life for myself, like you and mom have always wanted me to do! Would you really send a _pregnant_ woman to an insane asylum, just to make sure secrets aren't spilled?"

When Peter didn't answer straight away, Melissa realized that he was actually thinking about it.

Disgusted, Melissa left the table and fled to the restroom. Luckily for her, the elaborately lounge attached to it was completely empty.

She tried in vain to calm herself, but it didn't work because all she could do was cry.


	12. Chapter 12

**For my anon from the last chapter :)**

* * *

"Woah, Melissa. Take it easy and drink some water. Here."

Melissa felt the cushions on the island shift as a new person joined her and handed her a glass of ice water. CeCe was her visitor, and watching her with genuine concern. Melissa accepted the water and took a long drink, only then realizing that she'd nearly cried herself into dehydration, which wasn't good for the baby at all.

"Thank you, CeCe," Melissa set the glass aside. "And happy birthday, by the way."

"Thank you." She smiled and gave Melissa a pat of sympathy. "What made you so upset?"

"Long story short: my dad and I had some words with each other—just more Hastings family drama." Melissa explained simply before staring CeCe straight in the eyes. "Why are you back? Saying goodbye to you after the Wilden thing was hard enough, and not being able to come see you was hard enough, especially when I was in _London."_

Despite the way things looked, Melissa and CeCe had been very close for years, and when they were apart, they missed each other like crazy.

"In my defense, I've been in Rosewood for less than three days, and I was actually going to call on you in the morning."

"Where are you staying now? As far as I know, your old apartment no longer has a vacancy."

"I'm at the DiLaurentis house because Jason gave me a room—free of charge, so long as I grocery shop every once in awhile."

"What about Alison and Mister DiLaurentis?"

"She tolerates me at best, and he 'suddenly' decided to go on an extended business trip to Russia."

"Okay, but you still haven't said why you're _here."_

"I've… um, found some stuff out about my family."

CeCe played it close to the vest that she grew up in foster care in the greater Philidelphia area as a kid and was never adopted. Even before Melissa had met CeCe all those years ago, CeCe still had no idea about where she'd come from, or even who her parents were. CeCe had once described it as a lonely existence.

"What did you find out? You can tell me."

CeCe shook her head. "No. Not here, not now."

"Then when? And who are you afraid of?"

"You _know_ who, and he… or _she_ will have it out for me once they find out I've retired my red coat."

Melissa's eyes widened in shock. "Why would you do that?"

"One, I've never been so close finding out anything about my family, so I just can't afford to have any more dirty jobs or associations hanging over me."

"Speaking of which, the Kahn brothers might rejoice when they see you, but Jenna, Mona, the Marins, and Spencer, Emily, and Aria will all freak out."

"I'm very prepared to deal with that because I did a lot of growing up and maturing when I was in Paris. I'm ready to atone for my sins."

"That's heavy wording," Melissa said sincerely. "But I'm proud of you."

"Than—oh…"

CeCe held her hands to the side of her middle, which Melissa saw had an unmistakable swell to it.

"Come on, you guys. Rest." CeCe was rubbing her hands in soothing circular motions on her belly as she looked down at it. "There's no need to show off; I'm only talking to Melissa. Shhh…"

CeCe's babies became still at the sound of their mother's voice, and when CeCe looked up again, she saw Melissa was grinning at her like it was Christmas Day.

"You're expecting, too?"

"Ye—wait. What do you mean, _'too'?"_

"I already have a daughter named Sade, and I think she'd like you, but your kids are going to be getting a playmate from me later this year who will be more at their speed and size."

"Wow." CeCe shook her head in wonder. "I leave town for awhile, and everything is different: things are calmer, you're a mom, and you've got another baby on the way."

"And that's no ordinary ring on your finger." Melissa nodded towards the diamond ring on CeCe's right hand. "That's a _wedding_ ring."

CeCe regarded the item and sighed sadly. "I really _should_ take this off…"

"CeCe?" Melissa spoke gently, maternally. "I'm sorry if I upset you."

"You didn't. Being a pregnant widow is hard, as I know you remember."

CeCe leaned back on one hand, resting a hand on her bump as she felt one of her babies shift lazily.

"Guess what I'm thinking about, Melissa."

"Cape May? Before everything was complicated?"

"Yes, actually. That was one hell of a summer."

"Cecelia," Melissa warned sternly. "That was a one time thing, and we've both moved on since then."

"I know, I know, but you have to admit: it was good to feel on top of the world for awhile."

Melissa relaxed and smiled at the memories. "It really was, and you are a very good kisser."

"Likewise." grinned CeCe. "I'm glad we can look back at that part of the summer without it being weird."

"Mhm."

_DING!_

CeCe's phone made noise at her, so she retrieved it from her clutch to see she had a new text from Jason.

_Where are you? And where is Melissa? Mister H is gone._

_Melissa is with me, and I'm cheering her up._ CeCe replied, hitting send.

_Tell her that I'm going to buy her dinner and dessert. She looked way too sad._

_Will do. See you in a second._

CeCe put her phone away and stood, brushing the wrinkles out of her dress before hauling Melissa to her feet and fussing over her for a minute.

"What's going on?" Melissa asked.

"Those texts were from Jason, according to whom, your father has left the dining room."

"He's gone back up to his room, no doubt, but _good._ I don't want to see him again unless I can get Jason or Caleb or Toby to kick his ass for me."

"There's the Melissa we all know and love." CeCe grinned. "I knew you were in there."

"I—hey! Where are we going?"

CeCe was leading Melissa by the hand out of the lounge and back to the dining room.

"We're going back to mine and Jason's table because he's invited you to have dinner and dessert with us, his treat."

"But—"

"Don't fuss. We're going to take care of you for awhile."

Feeling delighted that CeCe was back and then quite taken aback but touched that Jason was acting like a brother and actually being a friend to her, Melissa didn't put a fight and decided to just have some fun.

* * *

Over a pleasant meal and dessert, Melissa began to feel very glad and thankful that something good had come out of the evening, after all.

After Jason paid the bill and left a generous tip for their waitress as well as Melissa's waitress from earlier—who had been completely stiffed by Peter—he escorted Melissa and CeCe outside to the curb.

While they waited for their cars to come around, Jason turned to Melissa.

"You're back with Wren, right?"

"For good." Melissa confirmed.

"If he isn't around and Peter comes back looking for trouble, you call me and I'll come running to set him straight."

"Thanks, Jason." She hugged him. "That means a lot."

In a protective, younger brother way, Jason kissed Melissa on the forehead. "For you—anything."

Melissa just smiled and then turned to CeCe to see if she had anything to say, but CeCe hadn't even been paying attention because she'd spotted their cars rolling up to the curb.

"Jason," she told her friend. "You go ahead and take your car back to the house; I'm riding with Melissa."

"You are?" The other two asked in unison.

"Yes, now let's hurry up—other cars are waiting."

* * *

"Okay, CeCe." Melissa said as she began driving them back to their neighborhood. "What did you want to say that you can't say in front of Jason?"

"I can say it in front of him," she chuckled. "But he told me to do it because I'm least likely to stumble over my words."

"Out with it."

"Jason is on on what I know about my family, and he's promised to watch your back and mine, just in case things get ugly."

"What a swell guy." Melissa turned the car down one particular country road, and they soon passed the 'Welcome to Rosewood' sign. "Am I allowed to be clued in on what's going on?"

CeCe shook her head. "Not just yet, but I promise it'll be soon. In the meantime, Jason and I have agreed to change sides in this war. He says he is putting the NAT club to bed because he's the last one left. And yes, I do know what the NAT Club is."

"Okay, so if you guys are changing sides together, what are you going to do? Join us?"

"If 'us' equals you and Wren, then yes."

"We're in Mona's innermost circle because we're smart, but she has no idea that we're 'double agents,' or what have you, or that we've recruited two more people. Are you sure you want in?"

"One hundred percent sure. We're not scared." CeCe told her. "Who else did you and Wren recruit?"

"Caleb Rivers and Paige McCullers."

"Do Hanna and Emily know? And what about Toby?"

"Spencer would hate me if I got Toby involved, and no, Hanna and Emily have no idea about Caleb and Paige. Neither do Spencer, Alison, or Aria. We're keeping everything confined and on the DL."

CeCe caught her friend's drift. "Gotcha."

* * *

When Melissa got to their neighborhood, she parked in her own driveway and turned off the car, pocketing the keys in her clutch.

"Hey," CeCe put a hand on Melissa's arm. "I'm glad you can still smile tonight, even if things didn't start out right. And thanks for spending part of my birthday with me. I had fun."

"So did I."

A new thought struck Melissa as she felt her baby try to turn a cartwheel inside her.

"Are you busy tomorrow?"

"No." CeCe shook her head. "What's up?"

"I'm taking a trip into the city tomorrow to go shopping, and since my kid has a weird obsession with trains, I told her that we're going to ride one. Do you want to come?"

"Sure." CeCe smiled. "Text me with details in the morning?"

Melissa agreed and the two exited car. Before they went their separate ways, the two friends hugged, both glad that they back in each other's lives.

After Melissa watched CeCe go next door, she went into her own house and only got as far as putting her things away and letting her hair down. When she got to the living room, she saw Spencer lying on the couch with her hands on her petite bump as she stared into space. A French copy of _Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory _was next to her.

"Jesus Christ, Spencer." Melissa held a hand over her heart. "You startled me."

"Why were you hugging CeCe Drake just now? And why did she come back to Rosewood?"

"CeCe is no longer a threat. Trust me."

"That's a lot, coming from you, but okay."

Thanks for being a big person, Melissa thought.

"Where's mom?"

"In her office with Sade."

"Okay, thanks."

Melissa turned to go, but she looked back when Spencer called after her.

"Yes?"

The look on Spencer's face was warm and kind. "You look really nice tonight."

Melissa just about melted; given the infamous, longstanding rivalry the two had always had, it wasn't often that Spencer complimented Melissa and meant it.

* * *

"Look, Sade." Veronica cooed to her granddaughter when she saw Melissa enter the back room of her office. "Mommy's home."

Worn out from playing hard after her nap and then eating dinner, Sade gave her mother a sleepy wave and then a beckon. Melissa gladly obliged and sat next to her.

"How did dinner go?" Veronica asked.

"Crazy at first, but then Jason came to my rescue."

"Pardon?"

"It's too long to explain right now."

Melissa looked down at Sade to see her curled up in a blanket with her little head resting on Veronica's leg. The only time that Sade had zero objections to hugs and cuddles that she didn't initiate herself was in instances like now, when she was punch-drunk tired.

"Mommy missed you." Melissa told her as she pulled her into her lap. "Things aren't the same when you and daddy aren't there to have adventures with me."

Sade just nodded vaguely and closed her eyes. Melissa looked to Veronica to see her watching the scene fondly.

"I remember that Spencer was the wiggleworm and wasn't good for cuddling unless she was already sawing logs. What about me?"

"Believe it or not, you were ten times cuddlier than her and Sade put together at any time of day. God only knows how many times you saved me."

"Wait, what?"

"It was a rough winter when you were born, and there was an incredible amount of drama on both sides of the family about money and all the things you—and any future children of mine or yours—would stand to inherit at coming of age. 'Hectic' would be putting it lightly."

Veronica's mother Joyce—who had also been the Spencer family matriarch— passed away from renal failure five months before Melissa was born, and she lived, things would have not dissolved into madness as they had.

"I was twenty for less than a week before you arrived on the scene, and your father doted on you, but he spent so much of your early years trying to make peace with the Hastings and the Spencers that it was just you and me for awhile."

Veronica stood and stretched.

"But you _insisted_ on arriving a week early during a godawful blizzard that had us trapped in this house for awhile… but you were so tiny and soft and perfect, Melissa. All I had to was look at your face, and I forgot my troubles for awhile."

"Oh, wow…"

Veronica gave Melissa's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Love can be hard to come by in this family sometimes, but when it's felt, you'll know it and it'll be real. Don't forget."

"I won't."

"Good." Veronica headed to the doorway. "I'll be in the kitchen if you need me."

Melissa watched her mother go and then she settled in with Sade, mesmerized by the sound of her breath as she slept.

Naturally, Melissa's thoughts began to drift as she reflected on the night's events. She'd tell Wren eventually, but there was no use in distracting him while he was at work.

CeCe was back, but she was no longer the enigmatic Red Coat. And from the sounds of it, even after all this time, she had no idea who A was.

Plua there was the part of how CeCe was the newest occupant of the DiLaurentis house, and also how her newest occupation was 'mama-to-be-times-two.'

Melissa would be remiss if she didn't take into account how CeCe had eyed Peter earlier. Should she be worried about that?

And no fucking way could Melissa forget that CeCe was risking her life by coming out of hiding to reveal that she was on to something big, and that Jason was aware of it, too.

The one thing that warmed her heart through and through, though, was that both CeCe and Jason wanted to not only be friends with her, but allies, too.

Melissa had to take them where they counted, she supposed, but at least she and Wren had people on their side now, as opposed to where they'd been a year ago or even when everything started going downhill.

Melissa was going to count her blessings.

She had to.


	13. Chapter 13

Melissa, Wren, and Sade were a family of early risers, meaning that by seven-thirty the following morning, they were all ready and dressed for the day and had trekked over to the main house from the barn.

Working from home for the week, Veronica was already in her office, from which the click-clack of computer keys could be heard.

Sade elected to go find Spencer.

In the meantime, Melissa sat with Wren on the long couch in the living room, finally filling him in on what had happened at the club the previous night. Perplexed was one word to describe Wren's mood by the end, although there was one thing in particular that Melissa was currently trying to talk him out of.

* * *

"Absolutely _not. _No background checks on CeCe."

"And why not?"

"Because she's just come out of _hiding_ in another _country, _and if her suspicions are in _any_ way aroused, she'll take off again and be even harder to find because she's clever enough to hide herself better than she did when she went to Paris."

"Awfully protective of an old kissing buddy."

"One time." Melissa rolled her eyes. "I kissed Cecelia Drake one time, Wren, but I'll never not care about her even a little bit because we've been friends for the last half of our lives now."

"Then tell me why you're so protective of her—besides her and Jason joining us."

"It's really hard to explain, but I've always felt some kind of deep bond with her, and I've known her since the beginning of high school. I kept in contact with her during the Hilton Head years, but she doesn't know about Spencer."

"Then I'll respect your wishes, Melissa."

"Thank you." She breathed a sigh of relief. "And we really need to leave CeCe be because she's also pregnant, _and_ she's carrying _twins. _She is ten times more attracted to danger than Spencer and her friends are, so I wouldn't be able to handle it of CeCe got hurt because of something we did."

"Fair enough."

Melissa thanked him again. "So please—I know you're itching to find out whatever big secret it is that CeCe is currently sitting on because I also want to know, but the last thing we need to do is break _her_ trust, especially because I have no doubt that she'd enlist Jason to kick your butt for her."

Wren winced at the thought. "And if she caught Paige and Caleb spying on her, that would be instant betrayal."

"Bingo, and to top it all off, CeCe Drake has joined me in the club of widows."

"Rewind, love: when did _CeCe Drake_ have time to get _married?"_

"I only know that it happened, that's it."

Melissa winced and held a hand to her bump as the baby chose that moment to get extra wiggly.

"Ugh. Taylor and Sade were pleasant and charming with me, but this kid is going to be a hell raiser just like Spencer. I'm scared already."

"Perhaps you're further along than we thought?"

"Yeah, maybe."

_DING!_

Melissa reached over to the end table to check her texts. This one was from CeCe.

_I'll be over in awhile. Can't wait to meet Sade. She likes Rubik's Cubes, right?_

_Oh, yes. What did you do?_

_Just you wait ;)_

Melissa pocketed her phone, laughing. "And now CeCe is already planning to win Sade's heart."

"I think I'll stay out of the way for that," Wren gave a nervous chuckle. "But if she's coming soon, we need to find Sade and Spencer."

"Here we are."

Also dressed and ready for the day, Spencer was at the bottom of the stairs with Sade standing beside her like a shadow.

"Sade didn't bother you, did she?" Wren asked.

"No, actually. She's a very good hugger."

Wren and Melissa gaped at the pair as they drew closer and sat with them.

"What?" Spencer asked as Sade climbed into her lap and settled against her.

"That." Melissa nodded to the two of them. "She's more lovey-dovey with you than she is with mom, us, and more than she was with Wren's parents. It's like she's a completely different person when she's around you. It also seems like she likes your kisses the most."

Spencer smiled and kissed Sade on the top of her head. "I guess my niece picks and chooses her favorites."

The teenager pressed a few more kisses to the little girl's crown when she signaled for more.

"Don't you, baby?"

There was a ghost of a smile on Sade's face as she nodded and looked expectantly at her parents.

"Right." Wren said as a way to get himself back on topic. "We have something that we want to tell both of you."

Spencer furrowed her eyebrows, wondering why she'd be included if she wasn't their kid. _"Both_ of us?"

Melissa nodded and sat up a little more, slowly framing her bump in her hands. "Mhm. Sade, Spencer, I'm going to have a baby."

Had this been even six months ago, Spencer would have been spiteful in response, but in this instance, she surprised even herself by being happy and congratulatory towards Melissa and Wren.

Sade, meanwhile, just stared, turning her mother's words over in her head before finally crawling over to Melissa and tugging at the bottom of her shirt.

Curious to see where Sade was going with the request, Melissa indulged her and then bit the inside of her lip when Sade tentatively reached out and put her hands on the bump, rubbing it slowly as she got more comfortable with the feeling of her mother's bare skin.

"Sade, what do you think?"

She looked Melissa square in the eyes and spoke in a clear tone. "Mummy, I'm in love."

It was very safe to say that Sade had turned her parents to mush because they were now working double time to compose themselves and Spencer noticed, so she took the initiative and got Sade to follow her to the kitchen, promising her some breakfast.

"Okay, so maybe coming back when we did was a good idea." Melissa mused. "They need each other."

"They really do." Wren murmured, giving Melissa a peck on the cheek and then a few softer kisses on her neck. "The bond they have with each other already is beautiful and born out of love, even if one of them doesn't talk all the time."

There was literally no good way to respond to that with both of her daughters in earshot, so Melissa just got off the couch and joined them in the kitchen.

* * *

"Hey," Melissa said suddenly to Spencer after they had cleaned up their now-empty breakfast dishes. "Aren't you supposed to be at school right now?"

"Teacher development day, or something like that," Spencer explained vaguely. "But it's just as well because I don't feel like going."

"Okay, who are you, and what have you done with Spencer Autumn Rose?" Melissa joked.

"I'm still here, but this one," she pointed to her middle. "Has been choosing to make himself or herself known, and I don't really have any good clothes that would help cover things up, let alone feel comfortable."

Nearby, Wren gave a pointed cough that quickly had Spencer lifting her eyebrows.

"Okay, what was _that?"_

"Funny you should mention a need for clothes."

"Why?"

"Sade and I are going to take a train to Philly because she actually needs a new jacket, and I'm in desperate need of maternity clothes for myself, and there aren't any good shops like that in Rosewood, unfortunately. Would you like to come? Everything is on my tab."

In the spirit of bridge-gapping and bettering her bond with Melissa, Spencer nodded.

"I'll come. When are we leaving?"

"As soon as—"

_KNOCK-KNOCK!_

"Would you open the door, please?" Melissa asked Spencer.

Wary of the sudden change in Melissa's tone, Spencer headed over to the room where the side door was and opened it.

"Hi, CeCe."

Spencer quickly stepped aside to let her neighbor enter, putting together that hers was the name that Melissa must've been about to mention.

"Hey, Spencer. How are you?"

"I…"

Even though Spencer had seen the other woman hugging Melissa not twelve hours earlier, words continued to fail her, especially when she noticed that the dress that CeCe had on was really complimenting her curves, namely her obvious twin belly.

"You're…"

"Pregnant." CeCe supplied.

"Yes. Congrats…?"

They both knew how weird it was for Spencer to say anything nice to CeCe after everything she'd done where Spencer and her friends were concerned, but CeCe accepted it.

"Thank you. Do you have any questions for me?"

"Like, fifty!"

CeCe continued to be very patient with Spencer. "I'll answer only one."

"Why the hell are you back in Rosewood? My friends and I discovered what happened to you!"

"The short of it is that I've come back to investigate some family matters. Alison and Jason and Mister DiLaurentis all know I'm back because I'm living at their house now, but please don't tell the rest of your posse, okay? I just need some time to sort myself out first."

"Fine, I won't say anything, but just to be clear: are you saying that if we stay out of your way, you'll stay out of ours?"

"Unless it's a genuine social call, then yes."

"I can live with that."

"Excellent." CeCe smiled and then stuck out a hand. "I want to make a truce with you, and I don't expect us to be girlfriends or anything, but I at least want to get along for the sake of your baby and my twins."

"How did you know about my baby?"

"I'm very observant." CeCe winked. "Do we have a truce?"

"Uh-huh."

Spencer took CeCe's hand in hers and shook it, feeling wary again. For some reason, she couldn't shake the feeling that CeCe was up to something. This girl would never not creep her out, truce damned.

"Truce."

"Thank you." CeCe beamed, letting go of her hand. "May I enter your home now?"

Again, the teenager stepped to the side to let CeCe by, and when Spencer made it to the kitchen, she saw CeCe speaking kindly to Sade, holding out a brand new Rubik's Cube to her. Sade took the puzzle, mumbling a 'thank you' and then began the process of mixing it up good and proper so she could give herself a real challenge.

"Spencer," Melissa called over to her. "It's time to go."

* * *

Wren offered to drive everybody to the train station because he had business at Radley to attend to later on, and the train station was on his way to the sanitarium.

In a 'picking and choosing' mood, Sade would only let Spencer look after her, so the two were soon outside in the front driveway with Wren, who was getting the car started. With Veronica still working away in her office, that just left CeCe and Melissa in the kitchen.

"So." CeCe started, looking her friend square the eye.

"So what?"

"When were you going to tell me that Spencer is your kid, too?"

Melissa was taken aback. "How the hell did you know?"

"The mannerisms, for starters. Melissa, you two are eerily alike."

Melissa thought of Spencer's crazier side that led once to her drug abuse, and another time to a stay in Radley.

"That's true, I can't deny that... It's half of why we can pass for sisters."

"Even still, I figured it out the first time I met her."

"Damn you and your genius IQ."

_DING!_

Melissa quickly read through her text and since her best friend was the only other person in the room with her, she showed it to her.

Melissa needed someone else to see it just so she'd be able to believe that she wasn't hallucinating.

_You have until midnight tomorrow to tell Spencer the truth. Or else I will. —A_


	14. Chapter 14

Even though Melissa and Spencer both looked like they'd simply gained a little weight around the middle, CeCe's body was very telling of her condition to the world, even at twelve weeks.

Once on the train, everyone gave her a wide berth, allowing her, Melissa, Sade, and Spencer to have a train comportment to themselves. As they all settled in for the ride—it was going to take almost two hours to get to the area they needed—Melissa found a new text from Mona on her phone.

* * *

_CeCe is back. Find out why and take her down._

Melissa just shook her head and sighed. Mona was clever, but it was almost like she was losing her touch.

"What?" CeCe asked when she saw Melissa looking distant.

"Her."

Melissa showed CeCe the text, and CeCe promptly raised her eyebrows.

"What do I do?" Melissa inquired.

"Just go along with it. That'll be for the best."

"You sure?"

"Absolutely. Just promise her you will. It'll work, trust me."

And Melissa did trust CeCe. She always had, and always would.

* * *

Meanwhile, over at Radley, Wren was facing a mountain of paperwork in the form of his many patient reports that needed transcribing. He could already foresee being there all day long.

He was already in the mood for a distraction.

* * *

"Doctor Kingston, I'm sorry to disturb you, but you have some visitors."

One of the nurses from the lobby was in Wren's office doorway.

"By all means," Wren closed his laptop lid. "Send them in."

Wren's guests turned out to be Paige and Caleb.

"What are you two doing here?" Wren was genuinely confused as they shut the door behind them.

"We saw that CeCe Drake is back," Paige spoke of her archenemy with loathing. "And we did some research on her."

"I know that Rosewood been host to many a suspicious person over the years," Wren chose his words carefully. "But what makes you think that people haven't already found what there is to find on that woman, who is perhaps the most suspicious of them all?"

"Because they don't have the computer hacking skills I do." Caleb said smugly as he pulled manila folder stuffed with papers out of his messenger bag and set it in front of Wren. "This is what we found."

Wren pulled the folder closer to himself, but didn't open it, remembering Melissa's warning about leaving CeCe alone.

"You're not even going to open it?"

"No," confirmed Wren. "I'm not going to, and you two had best forget what you've found."

"Why?"

"Because she lives in the DiLaurentis house now with Alison and Jason. She's also pregnant with with twins, and she and Jason have defected, for lack of a better word, to mine and Melissa's team."

"Why would they do that?" Paige all but screeched.

"That's the million dollar question, isn't it?"

"And why is she roomies with Jason and Alison? Is she turning over a new leaf, or something?"

"Yes, actually."

Next to Paige, Caleb shook his head. "Wonders never cease around here."

Now Paige was frowning. "We pulled an all-nighter for this, and Emily and Hanna have no idea."

"I commend you for your sneakiness—I think—but Melissa gave me an explicit warning to not do background checks or anything of that sort in regards to CeCe. It would be an instant betrayal."

"And if CeCe finds out?"

"According to Melissa, CeCe would no doubt go back into hiding because you'll have spooked her. It would also be my head on a platter when Melissa found out about it—because trust me, she would—and I can only imagine how she'd punish you two."

"Is she really that mean?" Paige wanted to know.

"She can be if she's crossed the wrong way. I know from experience."

Wren set the file in one of his desk drawers.

"As I said: it's best you both forget what you've found."

"I guess we'll have to make sure she or Mona or Jenna don't find out, either."

"That would be wise."

Paige gave a shiver, even though Wren's office was a pleasant temperature. She'd had a feeling for awhile that something bad was on the horizon, but she didn't know what it was going to be. "What are we supposed to do now?"

Wren was saved from having to answer when Paige's phone beeped at her with a new text from Emily, wondering where she and Caleb were.

The pair left quickly.

* * *

Later that night, long after everyone was back home and Sade was asleep in her bed, Wren was in the barn living room, sitting in a comfortable armchair by the hot and roaring fireplace.

Next to Wren's chair was an end table, and on that table was the file from earlier. Although it was against his better judgement, Wren had brought it home.

"Hey, babe." Melissa walked into the living room, dressed for bed. "I just got a text from CeCe, and it looks like she and Jason want to have us over at their house for dinner or something tomorrow night because apparently, CeCe is ready to share what she's found out about her family."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah." Melissa nodded. "Crazy, right?"

"Why us, but not Caleb and Paige?"

"Something about how they're both still wary of her because of the Wilden thing. She intends to talk to at least one of them—Caleb and Paige, I mean—but they're not quite at a place where she can invite them over for dinner."

Wren heard her words, but his mind was already other places. "Okay…"

That's when Melissa spotted the folder on the table.

"What's this?"

"Caleb and Paige came to visit me earlier, while you and the others were out. They did some digging—"

"Wren, I swear to God—"

"I didn't encourage them, I promise." Wren said quickly. "This is more about what they found."

"Which is…?"

"I have no idea because I remembered your warning about betrayal. I haven't even opened the file."

In a very heat-of-the-moment decision, Melissa seized the file and threw it into the fireplace. Both she and Wren watched the fire brighten for a moment, reacting to the papers' inks before giving into the flames and smoldering before fully catching on fire."

"Did you tell Paige and Caleb to forget what they saw?" Melissa asked.

"I did."

"Good–now they'll forget, we won't know, and CeCe will never have to find out about this in the first place."

She loosened up when she felt the baby wiggling around in her belly, wide awake.

"This kid…"

"What are you thinking?"

"That if she's like this now, then I'm worried about what it's going to be like when she has actual arms and legs to kick me with."

"You said 'she' just now."

"Did I?"

"Yes." Wren guided Melissa to his lap and snuggled with her. "You think this one is another girl?"

"I was right about Sade, wasn't I?"

"Indeed you were."

Melissa settled into Wren a little more before pulling up her nightgown to expose her bare bump. Before Wren could question what she was doing, Melissa put his hands over the spot where the baby was being the most active.

"I know you can't feel her from the outside yet, but she's always camped out in this particular area."

"She just wants to be close to you."

"And that is what's going to make it worth it…"

Melissa's words ended in a yawn. She was fading fast.

"Just relax, Melissa." soothed Wren. "You're tired, but maybe if the baby feels you relaxing, then she will, too."

"Good idea…"

Melissa leaned against Wren, smiling deeply when began tracing bumps and shapes on the bump, caressing the lower areas as he told the baby a story.

The last thing Melissa remembered before falling asleep was wondering what she'd done to be able to have Wren in her life, let alone have a future and a family with him.

She felt like the luckiest girl in the world.


	15. Chapter 15

The following morning saw Spencer being as bright and shiny as a new penny because she'd found out before coming down to breakfast that Toby was going to be home from his job in Killingworth the following night. She hated being apart from him, especially now.

On the other hand, poor Melissa had barely made it through breakfast before the baby started making her feel ill, forcing her to have a lie-down in her old bedroom upstairs. By the time Melissa was feeling like her normal self again, Wren was on his way out the door with Sade, having promised to spend the day with her. Needless to say, Sade was thrilled to spend some time with her precious daddy.

* * *

As the day wore on, Melissa began to feel apprehensive, although she didn't know exactly why.

* * *

It started with dinner at the DiLaurentis house.

As it turned out, CeCe had picked up some excellent culinary skills in Paris and ended up making a delicious meal that even Sade liked. The only catch was that it also appeared like that could no longer hold her poker face the way she usually did.

"Okay," CeCe said as she rejoined everyone at the dining table after coming back from a restroom break. "It's time to say what I'm doing back in Rosewood, and it isn't pretty."

"We're all ears." Melissa said immediately.

"But what about Sade? Where is she?"

Jason pointed towards a corner—Sade really liked corners—where the little one was camped out in a blanket nest, watching a movie on her tablet.

"Over there. She's watching Nemo."

"She has very selective hearing," Wren added when CeCe remained reluctant. "So unless we made a sudden loud noise or threw something in her direct line of sight, she only hears Nemo right now."

Satisfied, CeCe began. "When I got to France, I only lived as Vivian Darkbloom for a little while because I decided it wasn't worth it to live as someone else. Literally the day I decided to be Cecelia Drake, I met a very charming and sweet man by the name of Jean-Pierre DuBois. We got married right away because it was love at first sight, and neither of us had ever felt anything so right before. He knew my real name, but not what I'd done, although I did have plans to tell him soon."

"What happened?" Wren asked.

"To make a long story short, only a month after the wedding, he got stabbed by a mugger while we were at the train station. JP chased him to get back this girl's wallet and he recovered it, but he bled out in my arms before the ambulance arrived. We loved each other so much, and I don't think I'll ever be able to love like that again."

CeCe took a deep breath and let it out, rubbing at her eyes.

"I found out about the babies a little while after that, but being in Paris was too painful, so I packed everything up and came back here. Somewhere in all of that, I decided to find out exactly where I came from."

Wren held his hands up in a time-out position. "In your case, files like that would be sealed by a court of law. Don't tell me you're a computer hacker."

"Guilty."

"You taught Mona, didn't you?"

"Guilty again. She took to it like a fish to water, and that was years ago."

Melissa cleared her throat. "Now isn't the time to fall down a rabbit hole; back to it."

CeCe centered herself, getting serious again. "What hurts the most is what I found: my parents have been in Rosewood for my entire life, and my mom didn't want me. I don't know if my dad knows who I really am, although we've interacted a few times over the years."

Melissa suddenly felt ill. "You're a DiLaurentis, aren't you?"

CeCe nodded. "Jessica was my mother, and now that I think about it, she totally knew who I was during the years I hung out with Alison. I can't think of any other reason why she would've been so mean to me the way she was."

"Wait—so if Jessica was your mother, that makes you Ali's half-sister, too, doesn't it?"

CeCe nodded again. "Ali is my half sister, but Jason and I are fraternal twins."

"That means you, Jason, and I have the same dad." Melissa realized. "Holy crap."

Jason got his two cents in. "This also means that when it comes to all of your kids, Melissa, I'm an uncle to them. Even to Spencer."

"You know, too?"

"I was there when CeCe figured it out, but since it looked like Spencer had no clue, we decided to play dumb until now."

"Thanks, I guess."

Melissa sat back and rubbed her temples as she spoke to CeCe next.

"Do you know why you were given up?"

"Apparently, my mother was really superstitious and as a result, believed that female twins are of the devil. I'm upset that I couldn't even grow up as a Hastings, and if my mother was still alive, I'd totally give her a piece of my mind."

Melissa couldn't help but admire her little sister's determination. "If Jessica knew who you were, do you think her husband does?"

"Oh, yes, and that's exactly why he's gone; he said there's no way he'd live under the same roof as me, no matter how 'reformed' I am. But his absence makes Ali and Jason happy, and I don't have anywhere else to go where I could raise two little babies, which means I'm not going anywhere."

Melissa was now trying really hard to figure things out. "So if Ali is at the bottom of the heap, but her parents see Jessica and Kenneth, that doesn't make her blood-related to me, does it?"

"No, thank goodness for you. Keep going, though—I want to see if you can get everyone."

"Ali's the baby, I'm the oldest, and you two are five years younger than me, then that just leaves… Bethany. Oh, God. Was she Ali's twin?"

"No." CeCe gave her head a shake. "She was a little older than Ali, but from what records show and what I can figure, she was the product of your dad and my mom, but was put into Radley at a young, young age because she was wild and unhinged."

Melissa rubbed her temples again. "All of these years, and you're my sister, Jason is my brother, Ali might as well be my sister, and Bethany was the one that none of us knew about."

"Just what do you plan to do with all of this newly acquired information?" Wren asked CeCe. "You can't track Peter down in Russia."

"Actually, I already have and I know exactly where he is, but I decided that he isn't worth the effort."

"The only person left in this triangle, then, is my dad." sighed Melissa. "I'm not going to stop you from talking to him, but please don't kill him."

"Fine." CeCe huffed. "Anything else I should do or not do?"

"Be careful: he already wants to rip out Jason's throat any time they interact, and apparently, he's cheating on my mom."

"Excuse me? Peter just told you that?"

"He also wants to divorce my mom, but my mom told Spencer and me that she wants to divorce him. I guess it's just a matter of who beats who to the punch."

Over in the living room, the clock let chimed eight times and Melissa cursed.

"What?" Jason asked. "What's so bad about it being eight o'clock?"

"Just before we left for the train station yesterday, I got a text from A telling me that I have until midnight tonight to tell Spencer the truth, otherwise they'd do it for me."

Jason stood immediately. "I'll be right back."

"Where is he going?" Melissa asked.

"To get his camera and tripod, no doubt." CeCe surmised. "If you're going to tell Spencer the truth, then I get to tell her who Jason and I really are. I also think you should tell her about your version of events from That Night."

Melissa shuddered as she remembered her first and last encounter with Crazy Bethany, and just all that had happened. Wren reached over and rubbed Melissa's thigh comfortingly. He knew exactly what she was thinking because he was one of the very small pool of people who knew what had happened and what she'd done.

"CeCe, don't you think that's a bit much?"

"Not at all. We might as well tell Spencer everything at once I feel as though we're on the edge of something, almost like an apocalypse. Big would be the simpler word."

"What you and your sister are preparing to tell Spencer doesn't qualify?"

"No."

At this point, Melissa had finally joined the conversation again, speaking to her beau. "She's right, Wren: Spencer and her friends all need to know that I mistook Bethany for Ali and buried her because I thought that Spencer had killed her."

Before things could get any further, Jason returned with his filming tools and they all soon relocated to the back porch of the Hastings house to film.

Melissa wasn't looking forward to the craziness to come.

This was really going to suck.


	16. Chapter 16

Not long after the night Veronica had told her friends about her plans to divorce Peter, she began the process of drawing up divorce papers for him, and today, everything was finally ready to present to him. Veronica had even signed what she needed to, so all Peter had to was put his own signature on the documents, and that would be it.

Thirty-three years… just gone.

However, when Veronica got to Peter's room at the country club—that wasn't too hard to figure out at all—her heart just about fell out of her chest because when Peter opened the door, he was out of breath and in just a bathrobe. The distinctly feminine voice calling after him, telling him to come back to bed, could only mean one thing: he really _was_ having an affair.

Naturally, Veronica couldn't help feeling a little heartbroken, but she was proud of herself for not causing any major bodily harm to Peter… until after he'd signed the papers.

* * *

By the time Veronica got home, all she wanted to do was hug and kiss her babies before going to one of her friends' houses; no way was she going to be able to sleep in her own bed tonight.

She certainly hadn't been expecting to see Melissa and Wren both sitting at the kitchen island, looking so incredibly somber about the same something, nor did she expect to see who they were sitting with: Jason DiLaurentis… and was that… _CeCe Drake?_

* * *

"What the hell is going on, here?" Veronica demanded in a tone that made the other four jump as they noticed her. "Melissa, why is Jason here, _and_ with _CeCe Drake?_ I've been warned about her before."

Years ago, Jessica had warned her—and _only_ her—that CeCe was nothing but trouble, and almost as toxic as Alison was becoming.

"Mom, please don't." Melissa was almost as weary as Veronica felt. "They're good now, and they also both know about Spencer."

"Missy Jo, it's one thing to tell Jason because he's your brother, but to tell CeCe Drake—"

"I _can_ hear you." CeCe huffed in annoyance. "I'm right here."

Melissa held her little sister's hand in comfort as she spoke to Veroncia.

"Mom, CeCe is my sibling, too."

"What?"

"She's Jason's fraternal twin."

Too saddened by the afternoon's events with Peter to really feel anything, especially when she noticed CeCe's expectant condition, she apologized.

"Excuse my behavior, CeCe. I've had a very topsy-turvy day."

"It's okay," CeCe assured her. "Because 'topsy-turvy' is totally how we would describe the kind of night we've been having."

"Seriously—what's going on?"

"We just filmed something for Spencer," Jason supplied. "That tells the truth about who she is, and she's upstairs in her bedroom, watching with Emily, Hanna, and Aria."

"Oh, boy." Veronica paused as she counted the names and then frowned. "No Alison?"

"We haven't seen her all day."

"Spencer should be getting to the most important part of the video," Wren looked up at the ceiling, in the direction of Spencer's room. "Right… now…"

Sure enough, a scream could be heard—Melissa was glad it didn't wake Sade, who was fast asleep on the couch—and a few minutes later, Emily came down the stairs, looking positively livid.

In all honesty, Melissa had been expecting Hanna because she often jumped right in to protecting someone without thinking of any repercussions, or even Aria, because when angered, that one was like a hyper ball of pure energy. Emily was the peaceful one.

"A few ships short of the whole armada, eh, Emily?"

She narrowed her eyes at Melissa. _"You're_ Spence's _mother?"_

"That's correct."

"Why in the world would you start dropping bombs _now?"_

Melissa chose her words carefully because Veronica was watching, obviously aware that the two were practically talking in code.

To her credit, Melissa didn't break eye contact with Emily.

"Take a wild guess."

Emily's eyes widened slightly in realization and Melissa nodded in confirmation.

"There it is. Where is my daughter?"

"Upstairs, crying into Hanna's shoulder, and Aria is packing a bag for her."

"Why?"

"Because she asked me to tell you that she's moving to my house until Toby is back from Killingworth. Spencer doesn't want to see you, your mother, Jason, CeCe, or even Wren for awhile."

Melissa couldn't say that Emily's words didn't hurt—because they did—nor could the others, but Veronica stepped up to the plate.

"Sweetheart, why did Spencer send you to talk to us?"

"She didn't—I volunteered." Emily shifted her weight from one foot to the other, nervous. "The girls and I all care about each other, but Spencer has always been extra close to me."

"Go on."

"She's been my friend and my defender for a very long time; and even before we were friends, she scared off a bully for me every once in awhile. Spencer is always going to have a piece of my heart, and if things were _any_ different, I would have picked her instead of Alison, Maya, or Paige."

Melissa, Wren, Jason, and CeCe were all equally surprised by this confession, but Veronica really wasn't. She'd realized long before Emily had come out that the girl was gay, and she'd also noticed that while Emily had been a playful flirt with Alison, she had always been more affectionate to and more protective of Spencer.

"I see." Veronica answered calmly. "Does she know this?"

Emily shook her head. "No, and I'd appreciate it if none of you ever told her. I never even told the others this."

Everyone quickly promised to keep Emily's wish a secret.

"Thank y—Missus Hastings, what are you doing?"

Veronica had retrieved her wallet from her purse and extracted a wad of bills from it.

"I feel bad throwing money at the situation, but it's the only thing I know how to do right now." Veronica laid a one hundred dollar bill on the counter. "Take this money and use it to take care of my grandbaby until Toby comes back."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely," Veronica added a few twenties, making it a pile of bills. "And since you all travel in a pack when you comfort each other, use the rest to get takeout, or something. Keep the change. Really."

Having grown up in a working-class family, Emily wasn't used to having things like money flow into her hands with such ease, but she thanked Veronica and pocketed the money, heading back upstairs.

Veronica handed out another large amount of money, but this time to Jason, who was very surprised because while he knew Veronica didn't hate him to the core like Peter did, she'd never bothered being all that nice to him, let alone trusting, especially with money.

"I want you and CeCe to take care of Melissa and her family for me." Veronica took a breath to steady herself; her present company included some people she never wanted to cry in front of. "My girls are everything to me, Jason. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"I can't take care of them the way I need to right now. Keep them out of trouble and make sure they eat."

"Okay." Jason put the money away and looked at his stepmother, trying to figure her out. "We'll do that."

Melissa put a hand on Veronica's arm. "Are you okay?"

"No. I'll tell you later, but not now."

That did nothing to comfort Melissa, but she didn't let it show. "Are you going somewhere?"

"Yes, but I don't know where yet."

"At least let one of us drive you."

Veronica shook her head. "Don't worry, baby. I know who I can call."

Unable to stay in the same room as Melissa and her inner circle for too much longer, Veronica left the kitchen and went to her study, whereupon she removed her emergency suitcase from the closet and set it next to her desk before sitting down to ring Ella Montgomery.

"Oh, Veronica," the other woman breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm so glad that you called."

"You are? Why?"

"I was just about to call you; something told me that you could use a friend right now."

Don't cry, Veronica. She coached herself. Not yet.

"You've no idea, Ells. I was actually about to call you because I need a place sleep tonight."

Ella didn't ask why, instead saying, "I'm near your house because I just went grocery shopping. I'm turning onto your street now."

Veronica thanked her friend and smiled as she hung up.

This was was why she loved Ella. She was the loyal one.

* * *

Within an hour, Veronica was with Ella at her loft above the art gallery, and had told her everything as they worked their way through a dinner of spaghetti and meatballs, although Veronica hadn't finished her plate yet. She was being a slow eater tonight.

What was Ella doing? Skyping with Pam and Ashley.

"No, no. Pam, you have to actually tilt or aim the screen at yourself—honey, that's the _ceiling."_

Ella shook her head and laughed. Pam was wonderful in many ways, except for her understanding of iPad cameras.

Ashely came to the rescue, having returned from a different room. "Are you still trying to talk to them? Give me that."

Pam handed the tablet over without a fuss and before long, she and Pam were both looking at the camera properly.

"What's happening, here?" Pam asked. "Emily just showed up here with her friends, and poor Spencer is a sobbing mess."

"I was able to calm her down and get her to drink some water before she cried herself into dehydration, but she clammed up." Ashley added.

"It's true." Pam confirmed before continuing. "Ella, you really need to get a new, more up-to-date phone because your fossil is dead again, and _Ronnie's_ phone is _completely_ off. Ashley is the only one who responded to my SOS."

"I'll charge our phones," Ella promised. "But the more important thing is that according to Veronica, Spencer knows who she really is now."

"And she clearly isn't taking it well." Ashley stated. "What about Melissa?"

"Again, this is according to Veronica, but Melissa is a mess, and Wren isn't too far behind her. Jason DiLaurentis and CeCe Drake are keeping an eye on them."

"As is things couldn't get any crazier..." Pam muttered darkly.

"Wait," Ashley had caught on, and her panic was mounting. "Did you say _CeCe Drake?"_

"Jesus Christ!" Pam hissed at her. "Get a megaphone and call Hanna down here, why don't you?"

"Hey!" Ella said loudly. "Veronica said that neither Jason or CeCe are going to be threats any time soon, because believe it or not, Jason isn't being as half as weird as he usually is, and CeCe has reformed for a variety of reasons."

"Name one good one." challenged Ashley.

"She's pregnant with what Veronica is guessing to be twins."

Ashley simmered down immediately. "Good reason."

Something suddenly occurred to Pam. "Where is Veronica?"

Ella glanced over at the older woman, who in a rarely seen state: wearing very casual pajamas with no make up. Making eye contact with Ella, Vernonica made a slashing movement across her throat.

"She's crashing in my guest room tonight, but she doesn't feel much like talking right now."

Veronica mouthed the word 'tomorrow' at her.

"But she says she'll explain everything tomorrow."

"Okay. Take care of her."

"I will." As an afterthought, Ella quickly tagged something on. "And don't let Ashley near the stove if you two eat something; she might burn a dish."

"Ella, that was one time, and it was a year ago." Ashley rolled her eyes. "Plus, it was my own dish."

"Yeah, uh-huh. I was still the one with the fire extinguisher, wasn't I?"

"Okay, children." Pam scolded playfully. "Let's wrap it on up."

By the time everyone had hung up and Ella had put her tablet aside, Veronica had finished her food and put the dish in the kitchen, but was crying again.

Filled with compassion, Ella was soon comforting Veronica as she laid with her head in her lap.

"I've got you." Ella soothed, spreading a blanket over Veronica when she started shivering. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Ella, I was married to the same man for literally my entire adult life, and I've been a mother for just as long."

"Well, you're talking to the right person: I married Byron a month before I turned twenty, and bam—less than two years later, Aria happened. Mike was born a year after that."

"You and Byron were married for twenty years, weren't you?"

"Nothing compared to yours and Peter's thirty-three, but yes."

Veronica sighed heavily. "Does it ever get easier?"

"Nothing is easy about divorce, but after awhile, the ache lessens and you move on, noticing and appreciating different things altogether, especially your kids."

Ella stroked Veronica's hair thoughtfully.

"Focus on yourself and get yourself some bearings before you start worrying about Spencer and Melissa. Trust me."

"I do."

"Good." Ella smiled. "That's very good."

Veronica let Ella keep talking to her, calming her and reminding her what peace was.

And although neither woman was aware, the scene they were creating was almost mirror to how Aria comforted Spencer whenever she was feeling sad.

That could only mean one thing: the bond here was deep, strong, and built to last.


	17. Chapter 17

Across town, a peculiar meeting was taking place over at the Rear Window.

It was peculiar because from an outsider's perspective, it was just odd that a grown man and a teenage girl—who weren't even related—were sitting together well after nine o'clock on a weekday night.

* * *

"Well, here it is."

Peter handed Mona a long slender manila envelope stuffed with stacks of money bills.

"We already have separate accounts; Veronica will never know."

"Good."

As Mona stopped to count the money, Peter caught sight of the contents of her purse, which looked to contain even more money parcels. Peter's curiosity got the best of him.

"How in the world did you, of all people, catch onto my indiscretions in the first place?"

Mona finished counting her money, set a five dollar bill down on her tea cup saucer and closed her bag as she stood, getting ready to go.

"Well, now I know that all of Melissa's and Spencer's brilliance didn't come from you. But to answer your question, Mister Hastings, I may not seem like much, but I have eyes and ears all over this town. You can never be too careful."

"Then why do you have all of that money? Are you in trouble?"

Mona raised an eyebrow questioningly. "After what happened to your family today, are you _really_ showing _me_ fatherly concern?"

"Of course not." Peter shook his head quickly. "No."

"Even so, it's more concern than my own father has shown me lately: he wants to send me to boarding school in his home country—the Netherlands! I can speak French fluently, but not _Dutch!_ I don't speak a lick of that!"

Peter was a little freaked out that Mona had switched gears in the blink of an eye like that, but he said nothing. Was it just his imagination, or was the girl unravelling?

"He wants to send me over there because he thinks that all of the drama from the past few years is distracting me from a career in medicine. After I finish school, he wants to send me to medical school at Johns Hopkins U, but that isn't even _remotely_ close to what I want, _or_ what I've even been _dreaming_ of!"

"Which is what?"

"You're not my dad, so what does it matter?"

"You still haven't said why you're taking up a collection." Peter said gently.

"Let's just say," Mona chose her words carefully. "That I'm saving it up for a rainy day."

* * *

The next week proved to be a busy one.

Although done discreetly, Peter moved all of his things of his now ex-wife's house, and when his things were completely moved out, Veronica had all of the locks changed, for good measure.

Spencer was among those given a new house key, although she wasn't around the house as much because she had stuck to her word about moving to Emily's house, and now that Toby was back, she was with him at his loft. She just wanted him, and only him.

At Wren's request, Jason and CeCe told Paige and Caleb their version of recent events.

Melissa also met with Mona and told her information—although it was a little false—about CeCe's return. Obviously distracted by the thoughts in her own mind, Mona bought it. She didn't like being such a good liar, but sometimes it paid off.

As for now, Spencer hadn't yet tried reconciling with her mother and her grandmother. Melissa had Wren to lean on while she nursed her wounds, but poor Veronica was in the corner, alone and all but licking her own wounds. Like she had done many times in the past, Melissa stayed with Veronica and supported her.

This, however, meant being privy to a whole new bombshell.

* * *

"A year off? Mom, are you out of your mind?"

"Perhaps, perhaps not, but I've been wanting this for a few years now." Veronica answered calmly.

"How long?"

"Since just before Alison vanished, but your father wouldn't hear of it, and then every time I turned around after that, it seemed like everyone wanted my opinion on a matter—that is, if they didn't retain me to represent them. I'm so tired, Melissa."

"Tired enough that you want to take a sabbatical?"

"Early retirement has also been something that I've been seriously considering, but I've also put a lot of thought into adopting."

That last part threw Melissa for a loop and she furrowed her eyebrows. "You want a baby?"

"I do, and I desperately wanted to give Spencer playmates when she was little, but surprise—your father denied me of that, too."

"But you still want to adopt? Even after all these years? Mom, Spencer is in her late teens and will give birth next year, and _I'm_ more than thirty years old and have a growing family!"

"I know that bringing another person into this twisted family of ours, or whatever the hell we are now, is more than a little crazy—large age gaps notwithstanding—but I want to be a mother to at least one more person."

"You're not just saying this because Spencer and I are both pregnant, right?"

"Correct. I don't know how much of your early childhood you remember, but you and I had some pretty fun times together. I am more than capable of giving the kind of love I gave to you and Spencer both to someone else who needs a family and a home."

"Are you on an adoption waiting list, or something?"

"I have been for what feels like eons now, and I didn't tell your father because I didn't want him to shoot my dreams down before I even got out of the gate."

"You couldn't even tell _me?"_

"I could barely even tell my _friends,_ who have been like sisters to me for decades now."

"Touché," Melissa conceded. "But you _do_ realize that if the opportunity like, dropped from the ceiling _today_ and you're able to successfully adopt a baby, that that poor kid would be my little brother or sister, but an uncle or aunt to my kids and Spencer's, right?"

"Yes, but I'd still do it because at the end of the day, that child would be one desperate soul who I was able provide hope and some kind of bright future for."

Melissa leaned back in her chair and raked her nails across her distended midsection as the baby stretched out. "Things are going a little fast now, but I can be a big person about it and be happy for you… and be excited about getting a new sibling."

Veronica breathed a sigh of relief. Hers and Melissa's mother-daughter bond had always been very tight over the years because of the years she had practically raised Melissa on her own. Sometimes it was like nobody could touch them.

"Thank you, Melissa. Thank you."

"You're welcome, mom. Do you have a letter, or something to turn in to your boss?"

Veronica nodded. "It's on my desk, signed and ready to go. I'm going to turn it in tomorrow; I'm too tired to put it in with the overnight mail at the post office."

Melissa stood immediately. "I could do it for you."

Veronica was taken aback. "Really?"

"Uh-huh. I'll be right back."

Melissa found the letter in the exact place Veronica had said it would be, and after she got her mother to address it, she left the house quickly. If this was a step towards her precious mother being truly happy, then she was was going to do everything she could to help her.

* * *

Seeing as how Sade was already out in the barn with Wren, Melissa was able to leave with ease.

How was she to know that in the twenty minutes she was going to be out that everything was going to change forever?

* * *

When Melissa retuned to her home at 23 Bridgewater Terrace, she spotted a variety of cars parked there that most certainly hadn't been there before she left.

Toby Cavanaugh's truck was among the vehicles there, and as Melissa peered through the evening gloom, she saw the man himself walk up… with her daughter beside him. This was the first time Spencer and Melissa had been in the same vicinity since the night of the video, but one of Spencer's more unbecoming traits was that she had been known to hold a grudge before.

She proved this when she made the slightest eye contact with her mother as she stalked past her and into the house without saying a word.

"Spencer Autumn Rose," Melissa called after her, following close behind. "I know you saw me! You better talk to me, or el…"

Melissa's words died when she followed Spencer to the kitchen because it was abuzz with activity: Jason and CeCe were at the island, making a ton of sandwiches and other edibles, putting them into a freezer bag as they went, while Alison was at the kitchen table, taking notes as she made an important-sounding phone call. Although neither Pam Fields nor her daughter, or Hanna or Aria could be seen in Melissa's immediate surroundings, she suspected that they were all nearby. Ella Montgomery and Ashley Marin were both in the living room with Veronica, comforting her as she sat on the couch with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders and a cup of tea in her hands.

'Shellshocked' was the word that Melissa would have used to describe the expression on her mother's face.

Just as she and Spencer headed towards Veronica, Wren came up to them, looking somewhat relived, despite the current situation.

"Wren, why is everyone here?" Melissa asked suspiciously. "I don't even _remember_ the last time I saw my mom look that rattled."

"It's about your mother's sister."

Melissa put a hand over her heart immediately; although she hadn't seen her aunt in a little while, she'd always been fond of her. It also wasn't news that Chelsea's boyfriend was a psycho when drunk, and that while Chelsea was fiercely protective of their children, a heart condition mixed with a recent high-risk pregnancy had been slowing her down lately.

"What happened to Aunt Chelsea?"

When Wren hesitated, Spencer spoke up in a firmer tone. "What happened to my aunt?"

"I am so sorry to have to be the one to say this, but your aunt has unexpectedly passed away tonight."


	18. Chapter 18

The trip by train from Rosewood to Pittsburgh was a long one—seven hours to the north, in fact. Melissa had spent much of her childhood travelling places by train, and normally, she would have been able to sleep on the train.

The compartment that Alison had booked for them had enough sleeping space for Veronica, Melissa, and Spencer (Sade was going double up with her mother), and there was enough space to put their luggage away and out of sight, along with a bathroom and a little sitting area by the window. The room was literally luxury on wheels.

Yet… despite the hour, Melissa was wide awake.

* * *

"You couldn't sleep, either, huh?"

Spencer had joined Melissa by the window, outside of which the nighttime landscape was rushing by.

"No." Melissa sighed and leaned back in her chair, giving her rounded middle a rub. "The baby thinks it's playtime. Been moving nonstop."

Spencer smiled. Their babies were going to not only grow up together—and no doubt think they're twins—but they would also be very close in age.

"I think this one has taken a page from Sade's book because he or she seems to have been lulled to sleep by the train."

After everyone had gotten situated, Sade fell into a very deep sleep once the train got moving, and Spencer's baby had followed suit not long after.

Their whole compartment was shrouded in darkness because Veronica and Sade were both sleeping, so the only light they had was from the full moon outside, along with the illumination from the buildings and the houses in the towns they passed by.

"I'm surprised you're talking to me, Spence." Melissa confessed after a few moments of mutual silence. "You're good at shutting people out when you're hurt."

"I've done some thinking… and lots of crying. I'm so glad Toby was there. He's my rock."

"Did he help you through it?"

Spencer nodded, thinking of the times in recent days when she and Toby had just lounged around in his bed with not much clothing on, just holding each other, planning for their future as a family and seriously talking about how Spencer needed to approach her true lineage.

"I'm still upset that you took so long to tell me, but Toby convinced me not to take you down and let you have it like I was tempted to; I heard Emily already got mad."

"Yeah, she did."

Treasure that one, sweetheart, Melissa thought. She's a keeper.

"And Toby also convinced me that I should step up with the bridge-gapping that I've been doing lately."

"I like the sound of that."

"I won't call you mom any time soon, and I most certainly won't call yours grandma because she raised me, but that's because I've decided to accept the truth, no matter how unconventional it is: I have two moms."

"Okay, I'll take that." Melissa decided, smiling when the baby turned over. "Spence, you should feel this—I think your little brother or sister likes the sound of your voice."

"Is the baby wiggling around more?"

Melissa nodded. "She's moving even more than you did at this point. I think she'll be kicking any day now."

Spencer made no move to move closer, but her eyes did linger on the swell in Melissa's middle for a few extra seconds.

"When was the first time you felt _my_ kicks?"

"It was during an advanced trigonometry test," Melissa recalled. "And I was concentrating hard on the equation, but apparently, you just couldn't handle the quiet and just let me have it."

"Oh, boy." Spencer chuckled. "What happened after that?"

"Well, your name wasn't Spencer yet, but I yelled the name I had for you because I was just so ticked off that you made me lose my concentration."

"What _was_ my name if it wasn't Spencer?"

"Autumn Rose; mom and dad kept those as your middle names when they adopted you from me. They gave you the Spencer part. But back to the point—imagine me yelling out what sounded like two random words."

Spencer giggled more. "What happened then?"

"My professor gave me detention for being disruptive, but I didn't care."

"You rebel, you."

"And proud of i—oh…"

Spencer's eyes widened when she saw Melissa was crying. "Melissa, why the tears?"

In response, Melissa reached for Spencer's hand and when she got it, she pulled her close to her armchair, causing Spencer to kneel in front of her. Melissa held both of her daughter's palms flat against her belly, using them to give it a gentle prod.

Spencer and Melissa were soon rewarded with a strong series of kicks, as if the baby had suddenly decided to show off.

"Oh, wow." Spencer breathed, putting her other hand next to the first. "This is incredible."

"You'll probably be feeling something like this in a few weeks."

The kicks grew stronger, eliciting a rub from Spencer.

"I'm your big sister, little baby bird. I know being aggressive is in your blood, but there is absolutely no rush to come out and meet us just yet. Be gentle with mommy. She knows you're there, so don't worry. She loves you so much."

Surprisingly, the baby simmered down and Melissa could feel it relax completely. She looked at her firstborn in awe.

"Since when have you been a baby whisperer?"

Spencer shrugged. "That's a good question, especially since my own seems to respond to Toby more."

"Kids are weird. You sure were," Melissa said simply. "And in the three years that Sade has been on this earth, she's already established her own brand of weirdness."

"I love my sister so much. If I'd known about her sooner, I would've spoiled from her the start."

"She's lucky to have you as a big sister. So is the baby."

Spencer just smiled. "What do you think our cousins are going to be like?"

Although the oldest in their trio of cousins was only three, neither Melissa nor Spencer had had a chance to meet any of them because as long as Bill had been around, nobody was allowed to come near the kids or Chelsea.

"Sad, I expect, although Ruby is little enough that she'll only care about is cuddles, kisses, and maybe the occasional dirty diaper." Melissa mused. "Mom actually talked to Sunday and Henry on Skype for a little bit last week, and learned that Sunday loves animals, and Henry is totally into being read to."

"And they're three and two now, right?"

"Yes, and according to mom, they prefer being called Sunny and Hank."

"How cute is that?"

A sudden thought struck Spencer and she held her hands in the time out position.

"Hey, wait—how did mom make up her mind so fast about wanting to adopt them and Ruby?"

And so Melissa found herself explaining about Veronica's desire to adopt, and for good measure, she mentioned the sabbatical, too.

"So she really wants this?" Spencer asked at length. "Even with all of the crazy stuff going on in Rosewood?"

Obviously, they Spencer meant A and Company on that last part.

"No question to it, and knowing mom, if anything even hinting danger looms around these kids when we get back, she'll fight to the end to save them."

"Sounds just like her."

"Look at me, baby girl." Melissa said to Spencer after a minute when the teenager began to get lost in thought. "Look at me."

Surprised by the term of endearment, Spencer obeyed her mother nonetheless.

"Yes?"

"Clearly, mom didn't expect any of this, but she is literally doing motherhood all over again and she's going to be very busy for the next eighteen years or so."

"Where are you going with this?"

"Getting there; stay with me." Melissa coaxed. "All of the crazy things with A and Alison and that whole crew has scathed our family several times and even left me a widow. It even chased Wren away until recently. But now that he and I have a family, we have to really be serious."

Spencer was trying too hard to figure out exactly what her mother was even saying to formulate a proper sentence.

"Wren and I have been meaning to tell you this for awhile, especially since you're technically an adult now, but if anything crazy happens to us, even temporarily, we want you and Toby to be your siblings' guardians and look after them for us."

This totally blindsided Spencer. "I… what? Really? I get why you don't want to ask mom now, but Toby and I are just babies, ourselves."

"It's not like I'm saying anything is going to happen tonight or even next week, but just… talk to him and think it over. Please. There is nobody else we'd even ask to do this."

"Not even a friend?"

"Except for one person who is old enough to be my mom, Wren and I don't have anyone we'd call a friend who we'd be confident enough to entrust our children to. The rest of our allegiances are questionable or toxic."

Although quite tempted ask where Melissa's allegiance and loyalties were, Spencer yawned, suddenly overcome with sleepiness. Melissa had pity on her and helped her to her feet.

"To bed with you, baby girl. Come on."

Spencer let Melissa lead her to her bunk and she sat down, but didn't lay down. "Melissa, I couldn't sleep because I'm used to a warm body next to me, and so is the baby. Can you stay with us until I fall asleep? Please?"

Melissa almost cried because on the stormy nights their time in Hilton Head, itty-bitty Spencer would get scared and crawl into Melissa's bed for cuddles because their bedrooms were next door to each other.

Who was Melissa to deny Spencer any affection at this point?

"Of course I can, Spencer. Scoot over."

The pair were soon settled in the bottom bunk and Melissa began caressing Spencer's hair, whispering gently to her.

"It's okay, Spencer. Just relax and sleep will come. Just relax."

Spencer yawned again. "Okay…"

When Spencer finally did fall asleep, Melissa couldn't have moved back to her bed with Sade even of shed wanted to.

For the first time in years, not only was she marveling over how beautiful Spencer truly and how dearly she loved her. What touched her deeply was when she saw that Spencer had fallen asleep with her fingers fisting a corner of Melissa's shirt.

As a kid, Spencer had only ever done that when she felt safest with someone.

Spencer was changing.


	19. Chapter 19

When the family finally reached Pittsburgh, they were able to find the hotel where Alison had booked rooms for them without any problems, and they all slept for a few more hours, Veronica in one room, and Melissa, Sade, and Spencer in the adjoining room.

It wasn't until after breakfast, during a meeting with a social worker at the local hospital that the big moment arrived.

Sunday was a gorgeous little girl with classic Hastings features of a rounded face and lanky build, pale skin, brown hair and the biggest, deepest, chocolate-colored orbs for eyes. Henry looked just like her, just as a slightly younger, more masculine version. Both children were well dressed and groomed, although it was clear that they'd both been crying recently.

* * *

"A-Aunt Ronnie?"

Sunday and Henry had eyes only for Veronica as they cautiously entered the play room where the social worker had arranged for them all to meet. Henry looked sad and utterly confused, but Sunday was presently bearing an expression of disbelief.

"Yes, little one." Veronica smiled kindly at her, getting down on her level. "Do you remember when we talked the other day?"

Sunday nodded, still on her guard. "Why are you here?"

Standing, Veronica scooped Sunday up and sat her on her hip. "Because I came to check on you and Hank and Ruby."

At the mention of their younger sibling, Henry began to cry. "Want Wooby!"

The others watched in amazement as Veronica was able to pick Henry up and set him on her other hip with ease, kissing his forehead in reassurance.

"I know you want your sister, little guy." She told him as she settled on the couch with him and Sunday. "Miss Clara went to go get her, so she'll be here soon and you'll be able to give sissy all of the hugs and kisses you want."

Pleased, Henry just nodded and snuggled up to Veronica while Sunday gave her aunt a skeptic look.

"Are the people going to take us away?"

The fear with which Sunday posed her inquiry just about broke Veronica's heart even more, so she gave her an extra cuddle. "I know you and Hank are sad that your parents are gone, but I'm here now, and I want to take care of you and Henry and Ruby."

"Really?"

"Truly." Veronica nodded. "I'm not going to let any of you get split up. That would make me so sad, and I only want the very best for you and your brother and your sister."

Sunday lit up when she started connecting the dots. "We're going with you to your house?"

"If that's what you want."

"I do." The little girl said immediately.

"Okay, then." Veronica planted a kiss on Sunday's crown. "I live in a place called Rosewood. Know who else does?"

"Who?"

"My girls—your cousins—Melissa and Spencer. Melissa's little girl, Sade, also lives with us at our house in Rosewood. They're all right over there."

Sunday and Henry were mightily impressed that they had two 'big kid' cousins, and they were even more excited when they learned that Melissa and Spencer both had babies on the inside.

Sade, who had been keeping her cool this entire time, was showing signs that she was about to lose it, so Melissa thought fast and fixed the situation by letting Sade to be the one to give the newcomers their new stuffed animals.

Sunday and Henry were very surprised and thanked her, but when she shrank back to do her own thing, Sunday became curious about why Sade didn't want to play.

"Did we do something bad?"

"Me sorry." Henry apologized for good measure.

"It's nothing anyone did." Melissa told her cousins gently. "Sade just sees the world a little differently than the rest of us do, and it makes her shy."

The little ones accepted her answer, but Sunday soon got distracted when she noticed that Spencer was holding Ruby's lamb.

"Who's that for?" Sunday walked over to Spencer and put a hand on her baby bump. "Is it for the one in here?"

"Actually, no." Spencer shook her head and handed the toy to Sunday. "It's for your sister. Why don't you and Hank go give it to her?"

While they'd been talking, the social worker had brought baby Ruby in and given her to Veronica to hold.

It was clear from the way Veronica brightened at the sight of her baby niece that she loved babies, and it was made even more clear when she started crying over her and counting all of her little fingers and toes, the way she had with Melissa and Spencer when they were newborns. Veronica Lauren Lucille Spencer wasn't always an ice queen.

Overjoyed to see someone they already approved of treating their precious baby sister with so much love, Sunday and Henry both ran over to them so they could see Ruby and present her with her new toy.

* * *

Due to the nature of the kids' case and Veronica's reputation alone having a tremendous amount of sway, she was able to get custody very quickly, no questions asked and zero hoops to jump through. All of that meant she was also able to plan the burials for the deceased.

Because Veronica had long ago earned herself the status of 'good girl turned rebel' in her family, and Chelsea had always been the black sheep, what little of the family they did have didn't even bother showing up at all, even though the Spencer clan was local.

It was the people who did show up that really surprised Veronica and touched her deeply.

Upon invitation from Melissa and Spencer, Toby and Wren, along with Jason, CeCe and Ali, and even Ezra and Caleb, Alaina and Paige, all of the Montgomerys, both of the Marins, all of the occupants from the House of Fields, and even Mona and her parents came to the burial. Jenna didn't accept her invitation—claiming she'd seen her share of funerals in recent years—but she did send flowers.

The most surprising thing was who paid for the burial expenses: Peter.

He didn't always want to be seen as the bad guy, although he had accepted that there was no way he could atone for any of his great sins. Especially all the cheating. And who he was cheating with. But that was another story altogether.

In the long run, Veronica still accepted the money.

* * *

As a way to convey her thanks to her family and her extended family for making the trip, Veronica took everyone out to the Pittsburgh Hard Rock Cafe for lunch afterward.

Adorably, each of their newest family members had chosen favorite people to hang out with, and although Ruby was less than a week old now, she was positively smitten with Spencer, even using the teenager's bust as a pillow and resting her cheek on it when she fell asleep. Spencer looked like a natural, holding the infant, occasionally cooing over her and kissing her little fingers.

It was this last sight that caused Melissa to turn to mush and excuse herself to the sidewalk outside because it was becoming too much for her to handle. CeCe came to check on her, hanging Melissa the cardigan she'd left in the eatery.

"You just had to come check up on me, didn't you?" Melissa said as she put her cardigan on.

"I'm your baby sister, so I have to fuss over you for at least one thing." CeCe touched one hand to the underside of her big belly and rubbed the side with her free hand. "Plus, I needed to get up, anyway, because Benoît and Helene don't like it when I stay still for too long while they're awake."

"Benoît and Helene, huh? So you're having one of each, then?"

CeCe nodded and gave her sister a radiant smile. "I found out the day before we came up here, and speaking of babies, Melissa, I noticed that you took one look at Spencer with baby Ruby and then bolted."

Melissa sighed. "Even though we came up here to lay two people to rest, I don't think I've seen my firstborn this happy in ages. She's going to have her own baby next year, and I honestly thought that being the overachiever that she is, that she wouldn't want to be in this position."

"Would she be the type to go for an abortion?"

"Uh-uh. She would give it up for adoption before she did that. I almost gave her up before my parents offered to raise her."

"Does she know?"

"Only you and my parents and Wren do."

"I promise I won't t—"

_DING!_

CeCe's promise was interrupted by a chime from Melissa's phone. When the brunette saw who it was from and read it, she looked at the blond with worry.

"Is it from A?"

Melissa nodded. "Yes, and it's the first A text I've gotten in awhile."

CeCe held her hand out for the phone. "Let me see."

Melissa handed the phone over very quickly, and CeCe read the message.

_Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Dead birds can't sing. —A_


	20. Chapter 20

**My apologies about the lack of updates—we're prepping for a cross-country move. **

* * *

"CeCe, that sounds like a threat." Melissa said as she watched her sister go over the text again, this time with a serpentine look in her eyes that she always wore when she was up to no good. "What do we do? It was one thing when you were Red Coat and making us do things for you and to the girls on A's behalf, but you and are mothers now, and—"

CeCe cut Melissa off, holding her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. "Hey—there's no need to worry about it."

"What? Why?"

"Because A doesn't know I've hung up my coat; all they know is I've been away because of the Wilden thing. I also think that I've been left alone because of Benoît and Helene, but I wouldn't be surprised if I get 'drawn back into the fold' after they're born."

Melissa raised an eyebrow. "Would you go dark again?"

CeCe shook her head. "No. Not when I have kids on the way, and more siblings than I've ever dreamed of. I can protect you and your loves, and I will. I promise."

"Really?"

CeCe nodded, returning Melissa's phone to her before she forgot to. "I won't let anything happen to any of you."

Melissa breathed a sigh of relief and was about to thank her sister when the front door of the restaurant opened and Mona stepped out. Both Melissa and CeCe fell silent immediately, for which Mona rewarded them with her signature 'as if' look.

"Let's be real," the shorter girl said as she walked up them. "We all know that I will find out sooner or later whatever it is you two were just talking about, and if I know, then Ali and Jenna will, too. Who would you prefer to find out first?"

Melissa recognized the situation for what it was, and she didn't like it. "I hate Dobson's choices."

"As do I." CeCe agreed.

"You two really should consider being nicer to me," Mona purred. "Especially when I know who Mister Hastings makes his bed with… and even which side of this war she picked."

For once, Melissa couldn't tell if the teenager was baiting her or not, so she actually had nothing to say. CeCe just narrowed her eyes at Mona, not wanting to put up with her bullshit.

"What do you want, Mona?"

"My parents have insisted on picking up the check, and they sent me to collect you two because they're insistent that everyone stays for dessert."

"You go tell Hans and Leona that we'll be right there; we're just going to be a little slower for obvious reasons."

Naturally, Mona could see that they were trying to get rid of her, so she just nodded and went back inside. Melissa and CeCe did follow her, although they conversed with each other in near-conspiratorial tones.

"Seriously, though," Melissa said. "What do we do?"

CeCe thought quickly. "Thanksgiving is just over a week away. If nothing happens by then, we will get the others involved."

* * *

Lots of things happened between that day in Pittsburgh and Thanksgiving Day, with welcoming Sunday, Henry, and Ruby moving into the house on Bridgewater Terrace, and Veronica legally and successfully adopting them being at the top of the list.

And Melissa, Wren, CeCe, and Jason pretended not to know about it, but Spencer and her friends—and their associates, or whatever the others were to them—actually broke into Radley Sanitarium to look for information about Crazy Beathany, and her ties to the deaths of Marion Cavanaugh and Jessica DiLaurentis. This was also the same night that Toby was to graduate from the police academy but didn't because his truck was hit by an oncoming car. Toby survived with a few bumps and bruises, but was also sporting a broken leg and was wheelchair-bound and staying in one of the ground floor guest bedrooms at Spencer's house now.

* * *

CeCe, Melissa, and Spencer were now in their nineteenth, sixteenth, and thirteen week—respectively—of their pregnancies.

CeCe and Melissa were definitely feeling it, but as they were both older and more experienced in life than Spencer was, both women were able to go about their days just fine.

On the other hand, Spencer had to endure all sorts of taunts and name-calling from her school peers.

Of course her friends, and even Paige, Caleb, and Aria's brother were doing their best to look out for her, and Spencer loved them for it, but even still, the teenager's normally straight and unshakeable self-confidence was taking a real hit.

That's why Emily was currently at Spencer's house, trying to convince her to come to school. She'd already missed the last two days and people were starting to talk.

* * *

"Spence, it's the last day of school before Thanksgiving vacation; you really should come."

"And why's that? It's not like there are any pressing tests or assignments this time of year."

Napping in Spencer's arms, Ruby chose that moment to let out a sigh of contentment and burrow closer to Spencer. The infant seemed to really love Spencer the most, and the little moments like that always made Spencer's heart flip-flop. She gave Ruby a kiss before speaking to Emily again.

"And I don't want to leave the kids; they make me happy."

Across the table from her, Sade, Sunday, and Henry were eating breakfast and watching Toy Story on Sade's iPad, but earlier that morning, all of them—even Sade—had surprised Spencer by asking her for cuddles and a story from Sade's fairytale book.

Emily had known Spencer for years now, but had never known her to have such a soft spot for kids.

"And your babies will all still be here when you get home, but you at least need to show your face on campus today to shut down the rumor that people are spreading about you."

"Which is what?"

"That you've run off with Toby somewhere."

"Who started that?"

"Some sophomore named Kylie Carver."

"The under class-men really don't know anything about my relationship with Toby, do they?" Spencer murmured. "This is exactly why we keep things on the DL."

"And it's _because_ of your 'colorful' and 'checkered' history—especially with him and Ian, and your time at Radley—that people have even started saying things in the first place."

Spencer sighed dramatically, but only because she knew Emily had a point. "Living in a small town sucks, but okay. Take Ruby."

Quite surprised by that last part, Emily quickly set her backpack down and took the infant with ease.

"I'm going to go get dressed." Spencer announced as she rose. "Keep an eye on Ruby and the others for me? Melissa will be in soon."

Before Emily could give a real response, her friend was already going to the staircase. No sooner was she out of sight than Melissa entered the kitchen from a different part of the house.

"Emily?" She came over and lifted Ruby from the swimmer's arms. "Did you come here to get Spencer to go to school? Getting her to eat was enough of a fight."

"She just went upstairs to change, but yes to your question."

Melissa gave a sigh of relief. "Thank you, sweetie."

Emily smiled at the term of endearment. For whatever the reason, during the times Melissa wasn't all over the place, she'd always favored her over the others. Probably because she never jumped to conclusions as quickly as Hanna and Aria did, but even still, Emily had caught on to it years ago.

"Wait—where is your mom?" asked Emily.

"Asleep. She was up most of the night with Ruby, so I'm babysitting while she gets a proper slumber."

"Well, that's nice of you."

Melissa smiled, although it was vague because her mind was elsewhere. "Will you keep an eye on Spencer today? Make sure she gets through the day fairy intact?"

"Of course."

"Thank you."

Sometimes I wonder if they were married in another life, Melissa found herself thinking. Emily's devotion is precious.

"Hey, Em—I'm ready to go."

Spencer had come back down, completely dressed and ready for the day. She even had her school bag slung over her shoulder.

She was a little disconcerted to see her mother and her best friend looking like they'd left the planet. When they saw her, they both jumped slightly.

"Are you two okay?" She asked.

"We're fine, Spencer." Melissa promised. "Go to school with Emily before you're late."

* * *

As was the way at Rosewood High, rumors that began there spread like wildfire, and unless the subject of the rumor didn't do anything to shut it down, things would take on a life of their own.

The rumor about Spencer had reached that particular stage already, so when she showed up with Emily, she noticed almost immediately how many people were staring at her or chattering and gossiping with their friends about her.

Spencer also noticed that most of them weren't even trying to be discreet.

This was going to be a long day.


	21. Chapter 21

"Where is Alison?"

Spencer and Emily were now gathered by Spencer's locker with Aria and Hanna, but the devious blond was the only one missing from the group.

It wasn't unusual these days, though.

"Who knows?" Hanna shrugged. "Maybe she's at home, plotting Jenna's downfall."

"Wouldn't that be nice?" Aria muttered dryly. "Then she'd be doing something decent for a change, instead of scaring us all the time."

"Hope springs eternal." Emily commented.

"Oh, well." Spencer closed her locker and turned to the others. "I guess we'll just catch up with her later."

The warning bell rang overhead, and all around them, people were trekking off to their first period classes.

Luckily for Spencer and her friends, their first period was a free one, so they usually convened in Ella Montgomery's room since she had a prep period first thing in the morning.

They were almost there when Spencer suddenly remembered that she'd left something in her locker and had to go back for it. Her friends went on without her, and after she'd collected her book, she headed back towards Ella's room, although a little slower this time because the baby didn't seem to like it when she rushed.

"Slut."

One of the football players purposefully bumped into Spencer, causing her to drop her neatly-stacked pile of books. The kid walked away, laughing and exchanging high fives with two of his cohort that were with him.

Purely because it had been a rough night and because she was tired now, Spencer just stood there in the now-empty hallway, rubbing her eyes and trying not to cry. Damn pregnancy hormones.

"Here you go, miss."

A man's voice, unfamiliar, cut through Spencer's shroud of self-pity, causing her to look up.

A young teacher, maybe around Melissa's age, who was sharply dressed and carrying a briefcase, was holding her books out to her, having collected them off the floor for her.

He looked like a totally regular guy, like you wouldn't even be able to pick him out of a crowd, but if he was here and Spencer didn't recognize him, that could only mean one thing.

"Thank you." Spencer took her books back and studied the newcomer. "Are you a substitute?"

The man in the suit nodded. "I'm subbing for Mister Chang's class, but it's a free period right now. Good thing, too, because I've accidentally forgotten how to get to his classroom."

Turning, Spencer pointed to a staircase at the end of the hallway. "Up that flight, and his room is the second one on the right in the left hand hallway."

The man smiled nicely at Spencer, although for some reason, she got the heebie-jeebies from him. "Thanks. Maybe I'll see you later."

The two exchanged their goodbyes and as he left, Spencer stared after him. She'd been in the Rosewood school system for her entire school career, and she'd never seen him before, which made him a stranger.

And strangers in Rosewood were 'shady until proven guilty' (Hanna's phrasing)… and/or they ended up dead.

Spencer finally remembered where she was and entered Ella's room just as the second warning bell rang. After politely reciprocating Ella's greeting, Spencer hurried over to the back corner where her friends were camped out.

"What took so long?" Hanna asked when Spencer took the empty desk next to hers. "Everything okay?"

"I-I don't know, Han."

"Well, don't stop there."

Spencer explained—in undertones—about the sub. Aria and Emily didn't have anything too useful to say, but Hanna offered to dig up what she could on the guy since they'd be having his class in a few hours, anyway.

As they filed out Ella's room fifty minutes later, Ella kept Spencer back for a minute.

"Everything okay at home?" She asked. "Have the little ones got settled in?"

Spencer laughed softly. "Sunday is practicing the arts of patience and tolerance because she's figured out that those are the only ways to get through to Sade, and Henry follows me everywhere because I look like his mother."

"That's adorable. What about Ruby?"

"By the time she's old enough to start telling us apart, I don't think she's really going to know for sure who her mother is because mom, Melissa, and I have been tag-teaming with looking after her. I have two moms, she'll have _three_ now." Spencer smiled more. "She's also the sweetest baby in the world… minus the part where she has colic."

"I remember those days. Aria went berserk and wanted to 'give Mike back' because he cried so much."

Ella laughed at the memories and smiled at the girl she loved like a daughter.

"If you ever need anything, my door is always open, here and at the house."

Spencer smiled gratefully. "Thank you."

"You're quite welcome. Now hurry up and go—even if this is the last day before vacation, I don't want you to be late!"

* * *

Hanna wasn't able to show that she'd come through on her offer until near the end of lunchtime, when she joined her friends at their favorite table in the courtyard.

"Where have you been?" Aria asked, not even protesting when Hanna began stealing her fries.

"Hacking into the school mainframe, reading up on our mystery sub, and covering my tracks." Hanna munched on a few more fries before continuing. "He's from California and has multiple degrees in Stanford, and they're all in complicated things like astrophysics and number theory. He's got a degree in French, too. He wasn't born in Rosewood, but he did come back with his parents for awhile when he was a senior and even went to school here for a semester."

Spencer, Emily, and Aria stared at Hanna in surprise: the only subject that ever made her come this alive was fashion.

"What?" The blond became self-conscious. "Is there something on my face?"

Spencer shook her head quickly. "No, Han—it's just different to see you get excited about something other than fashion."

"It's even weirder," Aria remarked as she poked at her salad. "That you're getting a rush from computer hacking, but okay."

Emily gave Aria a swat on the head for being a smart mouth, but Spencer was furrowing her eyebrows, processing everything that Hanna had just laid out.

"His name." She said suddenly. "Hanna, you've said everything but his name."

Hanna sighed, knowing that in the next second, she was going to be responsible for turning Spencer's world upside down.

"His name is Professor Miles Cross."

Just like that, Spencer, Emily, and Aria each lost their appetites as they remembered back to how Melissa had said in her video that Miles Cross was the name of the person who raped her, and that she could be traced to Stanford University. Melissa had also begged the girls to not go looking for him, so they hadn't.

But Melissa didn't say anything about what to do if Miles showed up first.

"Miles Cross?" gaped Spencer. "As in…?"

"Yep." Hanna sighed and nodded. "The one and only."

Aria put a hand on Spencer's arm. "Spencer, do you want to go home or call Toby or Melissa?"

Spencer laughed hollowly. "Toby's half-awake these days because of his pain medication, all Melissa would do is lecture me for coming home early when I've already missed two days in a row, and mom would fuss over me and make me eat; she thinks I'm too skinny."

"So that's a no…" Aria said at length.

"Then what are you going to do?" asked Hanna.

"I'm going to sit through his class, is what. I don't know if he even remembers what he did to Melissa, or if I remind him of her, but I have to do this… even for myself."

"Are you sure?"

Spencer nodded. "One hundred percent."

* * *

For some insane reason, Spencer's class was having a lesson on the last day of school before vacation.

But Spencer wasn't even paying attention, a rarity for her.

Now, of all times, her offspring was wide awake and seemed to be trying to stretch out inside her, no doubt reacting to the sounds of an extra-noisy classroom. Entranced, Spencer leaned back in her chair and pressed her fingers down on her belly to see if the baby would react. It did, and it made Spencer happy.

"Miss Hastings, did you hear me?"

Spencer jumped; she truly hadn't been paying attention for a good five minutes. "No, I didn't, sir. I'm sorry."

Professor Cross just sighed amongst the sea of snickers. "Please come up here and demonstrate the problem on the board. Perhaps that will help you maintain focus."

All too aware of everyone watching her struggle slightly because of the baby weight throwing her slightly off balance as she stood, Spencer made her way to the board and completed the equation perfectly and in record time, knowing that her gift for numbers made others jealous.

Miles was at his desk, trying to conceal how dumbfounded he was by Spencer's ease—this was advanced geometry, and that problem had been hard.

"Here you go." Spencer had already seen that Miles was trying to figure her out, so she gave him a sweet but false grin as she handed back the marker. "I'm pretty sure I got everything right."

Of course she had. She was _the_ Spencer Hastings, progeny of Melissa Hastings, who was good at everything she did. She'd gotten her smarts from her mother, and that was that.

By the time Spencer got back to her desk, the class was over.

She and her posse were the last ones to go, mostly because Emily, Hanna, and Aria were used to waiting for Spencer now. Even at that, the other three were watching Spencer curiously—mostly because they had no idea what she was up to—and they stood a little closer together, almost getting worried when they saw the cold look in her eyes they all knew, but only because they'd seen that expression on Melissa's face many times over the years when she was mad at them.

Miles was trying even harder to figure this girl out because something felt familiar about her. So _why_ was she coming up as a blank?

"May I help you, Miss Hastings?"

"No," again, Spencer hit him with her sickly sweet million megawatt smile. "But I know who you are and what you did, all those years ago. I could ruin you if I wanted. I could, but I won't."

It wasn't until Spencer and her friends were well down the hallway that Miles made the connection: Spencer had to be Melissa Hastings' kid.

Oh, damn.


	22. Chapter 22

Everyone saw Melissa go down like a sack of potatoes, but Emily was the closest and caught her as she fell. In all the commotion, nobody noticed Miles Cross get up from his chair in the corner, dispose of his empty paper coffee cup and leave the Brew quietly.

Meanwhile, Aria called 911, and Hanna went to help CeCe with the kids.

As for Melissa, she was out for less than two minutes.

"What happened?" She asked when she came to and Emily helped her sit up. "Where are the kids?"

"They're still with CeCe, and Hanna is helping her with them. What's the last thing you remember?"

"Talking with CeCe and then watching Spencer get arrested for Bethany's murder." Melissa's eyes filled with tears. "That really happened?"

Emily reached out and wiped Melissa's tears. "Yes."

Melissa didn't even know what to say to that, so she was quite thankful when Aria knelt next to her, a distraction.

"The ambulance will be here in a minute. Is there anyone you'd like me to call?"

"Wren or my mom. They should be near each other because they're cooking dinner."

Aria stood back up and moved away so she could place a new call.

The paramedics did indeed arrive quickly, and after they determined Melissa and the baby to be just fine, Melissa made her way back to her family, just as Hanna crossed the room back towards her own pack.

Sade, Sunday, and Henry wouldn't let Melissa have a moment's peace until she gave them each some kind of reassurance that she was okay, so it wasn't until they'd been appeased that Melissa was able to turn to CeCe.

"What do we do now?" She asked. "You're the idea lady, not me."

"We go check on Spencer, see what her bail is. I'm sure Veronica and Wren are doing that, but you're Spencer's _mother."_

Melissa nodded. "Whatever is happening, Spencer was clearly framed. She wouldn't be lame and pull a stunt that would out her in jail while she's pregnant. The number of people alone who would stroke out if that was her intent is quite high, with Toby and I tying for first place."

_DING!_

Praying that this text wasn't from A, Melissa fished her phone out of her pocket and read the message, immediately noticing how it had been sent a half hour ago but was only just getting to her now.

It was from Mona.

_The past doesn't always stay in the past. I'm sorry for everything, Melissa. Tell my parents I love them._

Melissa handed the phone to her sister so she could read it. CeCe did, and she honestly didn't know what to make of it.

"What in the w—"

She was interrupted when Melissa's phone rang.

"Here you go." She held the phone back out. "It's Leona."

Utterly perplexed now, Melissa took her phone and answered it. The first sound she heard was tears.

"Leona?" Melissa leaned against a nearby wall, supporting her bump with her free hand as the baby chose that moment to start kicking away. "Leona, what's the matter?"

"I was on my way to visit my family in Bethel Park and I had to turn around because I forgot something at the house, but when I got here, I saw the door was off its hinges and the front room has glass and blood everywhere!"

Melissa felt her stomach churn at Leona's words.

"Where's Hans?"

Even though Hans and Leona were divorced, Melissa knew that they were civil with each other, for Mona's sake.

"On his way to visit his family in Harrisburg, last I knew. Oh, God—he doesn't even know yet!"

"We'll make sure someone gets hold of him, Leona." Melissa said firmly. "Where is Mona?"

"I don't know." Leona whimpered. "Last I knew, she was in the house and was going to hit the road in an hour to join me at my parents' house!"

"Are you by your house?"

"Yes!"

"We will come find you soon! Don't go anywhere!"

* * *

When they arrived at the Vanderwaal house on Brookingshire Court, there was a lot of traffic made up police cars, news vans, officers, reporters, and looky-loos.

That made it understandable when Jason walked up to Melissa out of seemingly nowhere.

"How did you know to come here?" Melissa asked him.

"CeCe called me." Jason lifted Ruby from her arms and held her in his. "I saw your mom, and she asked me to tell you that she, Wren, and Toby are on their way to the jailhouse to see what they can do about springing Spencer. CeCe and I are going to take care of the kids for you."

Melissa began to protest, but the twins wouldn't have it, so she capitulated and weaved her way through the crowd, looking for Leona.

Normally very dressed up and proper, Leona was now a sobbing, disheveled mess. A few feet away, Emily and Aria could be seen holding a sobbing Hanna, who looked like she was having trouble standing up.

Melissa wondered for a minute where Alison was, but only for a minute because that was when they heard the officer's announcement to the press.

"We have confirmed that there is a body inside the Vanderwaal residence, and we have indeed confirmed that the body _is_ Mona Janel Vanderwaal."

Immediately, Leona let out a loud wail of despair and fell to the ground weeping. Melissa was beside her in a heartbeat, holding Leona in her arms and crying with her.

Numb was the only word Melissa could think of that suited how she felt at that moment.

Looking around, she saw Hanna in a state similar to Leona's, although the teenager was quick to empty the contents of her stomach onto the pavement. Melissa couldn't blame Hanna for having that strong a reaction: there had been a time when she and Mona were as thick as theives and loved each other like sisters.

But where was Alison? That girl was like a slippery eel, but Melissa had no doubt that she was nearby. Question was where?

Out of the corner of her eye, Melissa noticed a movement between two of the news vans and when she looked closer, she saw that it was Alison. The blond made eye contact with her and pressed a finger to her lips, on which a smirk was prominently displayed.

Melissa wanted to yell curses at her and tell her to come be with her friends, but another beat, and Alison had already vanished.


	23. Chapter 23

**No reviews for the last chapter? :(**

* * *

Over at the jailhouse, poor Spencer had already had been processed and assigned a jail cell. She even had an orange jumpsuit and canvas shoes, too. She was already scared to be in jail because she'd grown up in a gilded cage and despite all of the drama surrounding her and her family for… who knew how long at this point, she still wasn't even rough enough to handle this kind of thing. Spencer was also a little worried when she saw just how much the jumpsuit framed her belly. Being pregnant in jail would her an easy target for the rowdy crowd.

At least she didn't have to share her cell with anyone.

* * *

Clearly, she'd been framed for Bethany's murder, and all of the evidence was too good to second-guess now. But who would believe enough in her innocence to bail her out?

Toby would, of course, but he'd sink most of his own money into bailing her out because he'd be too proud to ask anyone for help. Spencer couldn't let him do that, not when they had a baby on the way and were saving for a house.

Her friends? Naturally, but thanks to recent years, they all had shoddy credibility, some of them, more than others. They'd all have a hard time convincing anyone in authority of their point.

What about Ezra? He was loaded. He was also a great guy and had helped Spencer and her friends out of quite a few scrapes before. (New York was nothing to sneeze at) Then again… there was the Ravenswood Thing, and also the 'actually, I'm just writing a book' excuse, and Spencer still thought it was incredibly shady.

Jason and CeCe were gambles.

If Peter, Veronica, or even Wren decided to bail her out and A struck, Spencer didn't know what she'd do.

Honestly, Spencer hoped that Melissa would be the one to bail her out.

* * *

"Hastings, Spencer Autumn Rose?"

_CLANK! CLANK!_

The warden had come to check on her and was banging her baton against the bars.

"You had better be in there!"

Spencer was currently curled up behind her bed, in a little alcove she'd found.

"There'll be trouble if you don't show yourself in the next five seconds!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!"

Using the wall and the side of the bed as leverage, Spencer pulled herself up and shuffled sorrowfully to the door.

"Ye—what are you doing?"

To Spencer's great surprise (and the dismay of the nearby inmates), the warden was opening the door and and stepping aside to let her out.

"Your bail has already been paid."

Spencer immediately felt like a confused puppy. "By whom?"

The warden checked her clipboard. "By one Miles Cross. Do you know him?"

"Yes. Yes, I do."

"Good. Please follow me."

* * *

Spencer was given her things back and when she was looking and feeling more herself, she headed towards the main waiting area, with plans to get home as quickly as possible, but she ran smack dab into someone: Miles Cross.

At least she didn't drop anything this time.

"We really have to stop meeting this way, Spencer."

Miles had caught her when she looked like she was about to tip over, and he used the brief opportunity to look his daughter over; he couldn't believe how beautiful she was. Although he was wasted on the night he'd violated Melissa, he remembered it perfectly.

"You're so beautiful, just like your mother."

"Don't you touch me," Spencer growled, shaking him off. "And don't you talk about my mother—she loves me but hates you, and she has a life that she's _happy_ with!"

"I always wondered if she turned out okay..."

"Why did you leave Stanford? Why are you here, _Miles?"_

Even if hell froze over, she'd never refer to the man before her as 'dad,' but using his first name just made the jab run deeper.

To his credit, Miles remained unfazed.

"That's for me to know and you to find out."

"Then at least tell me why you paid my bail."

"Actually, _we_ bailed you out because it just wouldn't do to have one of the most brilliant people in this town behind bars during this war."

"Am I supposed to be flattered by you calling me brilliant?" Spencer sassed.

"Most people would be."

"You've probably gathered by now that I'm not 'most people.' And who _exactly_ equals we? You said you and one other person bailed me out."

"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you, so we've decided to wait to see who can figure it out. You may be brilliant, but to be honest, my money would be on Aria for hitting the jackpot first."

"Don't talk about her, either! Go away!"

"Okay, I'll go, and I won't say her name, Spencer." Miles held his hands up in defense. "A word to the wise, though: when people ask who bailed you out, tell them the person wished to remain anonymous, unless you want things to escalate or unless you want Melissa to go into shock."

That was the last thing Spencer ever wanted for Melissa.

"Okay, fine." Spencer agreed. "Anything else?"

"Until you figure out who my companion is, you stay out of our way and we will stay out of yours. Time is ticking, though."

"What the hell does that mean?"

A mischievous look appeared in Miles' eyes. "Just think of that as another thing that goes with figuring out who my companion is."

"Whatever. May I go?"

Miles nodded and moved out of his daughter's way.

* * *

"Spencer?"

Turning at the sound of her name, Spencer saw Veronica, Wren, and Toby coming up the path towards her from the jailhouse parking lot. Her heart leapt and she hurried over, embracing each of them and taking extra time to kiss Toby and reassure him that she and the baby were okay.

"Spencer," Veronica said after a minute. "How are you already out?"

"My bail was paid."

"By whom?" questioned Wren.

Spencer shrugged, already playing dumb. "The warden said the person wanted to be anonymous."

"But—"

"Hush." Veronica commanded him before turning to Toby. "Perhaps you should tell her."

Spencer's defenses went up immediately. "Did something happen to Melissa or CeCe or one of the kids?"

"Actually, Spence, it's about Mona."

"What about her?"

Toby took his girlfriend's hand in his. "She's dead. Someone killed her today."

Spencer felt her stomach bottom out and had to physically cradle her bump as she felt the baby react strongly to her sudden change in mood.

"What? I just talked to her with the girls this morning! How are her parents? What about Melissa and Hanna?"

Spencer was close to tears: if Mona had been permanently bumped off the totem pole now, then absolutely nobody was safe now.

And for all those times that Spencer and her friends had wondered what life would be like without Mona around to torture them, they had never _truly_ wanted her dead.

And what was that about Miles and his alleged 'mystery companion'? If Miles had specifically used the words 'time is ticking,' that meant that he was dropping a hint about striking again soon, or—more realistically—Miles' companion was ill, or… if his companion was female, she was pregnant.

Well, shit. Spencer thought. That's probably it, and I'm going to be a big sister. Again.

"Spencer?"

The tall brunette jumped, realizing she'd been distracted and looked down to see Toby in his wheelchair, stroking her fingers with his thumb.

"Hm?"

"Did you hear anything I just said?"

Spencer shook her head. "No, I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Jason called me a little while ago and said that he and CeCe are back at the house with the kids. Melissa is taking care of Mona's mom."

"Okay. What about Hanna?"

Everybody knew that the blond and the pixieish brunette had been as thick as thieves for years before Alison found them and transformed them.

"She's camped out at the house with Aria and Emily because Jason and CeCe invited them over, but my guess is that they don't want to be alone."

"And Ali?"

Toby shrugged his shoulders. "She's around, but I'm sure she'll turn up later."

Veronica stepped forward, addressing Spencer. "Is there anything you want for later? Before we go home?"

Spender thought about it and shook her head. "No. I just want to go."

* * *

Later that night, the Hastings house was quite full.

Spencer and her crew were unwilling to part ways with each other, so Alison—who had turned up later, after finding out what she could via eavesdropping on reporters and policeman—along with Emily and Hanna, camped out with Spencer and Toby in the living room. Even Paige and Caleb showed up as soon as they could.

Melissa and Wren felt too isolated in the barn, so they set up camp with Sade in Melissa's old room, while CeCe and Jason took the guest bedrooms on the second floor.

Sunday and Henry refused to let Spencer out of their sight, so she played mommy to them—something she was actually coming to enjoy—while Ruby went with Veronica to the Fields House after Pam and Wayne offered her, Ashley, and Ella over, just in case they wanted a change of scenery for the night.

* * *

Melissa was wide awake, although that was unsurprising.

Firstly, her connection to the Vanderwaal family ran deep and long. Mona had always thought of Melissa as a big sister and because Mona was only a week older than Spencer, Melissa had often channeled the maternal feelings she had for her own daughter to Mona, but from a distance. Melissa never admitted to doing it, but she wouldn't have been surprised if Mona had figured it out awhile ago.

She'd also looked after Leona until Hans arrived.

And then wonder upon wonders, she got a call from Veronica saying that Spencer had been bailed out anonymously.

There was also the ominous text she'd gotten from Mona.

And to top everything off, the baby was kicking her, non-stop.

* * *

"Here, love. Let's keep you warm, hm?"

Wren had woken up when Melissa had gotten out of bed and he didn't have to look far for her. She was on the window seat, and even from where he was, he could see that she was cold.

"Thanks, babe."

She put the long sweater jacket on as Wren sat opposite her and began to massage her feet when he noticed that they were swollen. Melissa hadn't noticed at all and gave a whimper of relief when she felt the tension ebb away.

"This has been the shittiest day I've had in ages. I feel as though I've lost another baby." Melissa wiped her eyes as hot tears fell and her heart clenched at thoughts of what baby Taylor could have been like. "Be glad you've never lost a child. It's hell."

"I believe you," Wren said softly as he continued to work the kinks out of Melissa's foot. "But my mum lost a baby when I was young. It was a girl."

"Oh, Wren—"

"It's okay, Melissa."

Even though he did his reassuring, she could see that everything wasn't okay and that whatever he was thinking about, it was eating at him.

"Come here." She cooed, tugging at his fingers to make him come closer. "Come here and talk to me."

Wren crawled over and wedged himself in between Melissa and the window. Melissa put an arm around Wren's shoulder and kissed his temple.

"What is it?"

Wren sighed heavily. "I'm sorry I've never mentioned her before, but I have a younger sister, in addition to the one who died."

Melissa's heart skipped a beat. "What? How old is she? _Where_ is she? What's her name?"

"Her name is Aurora, and she's twenty-three now. Last I knew, she was in a home in London, but that was awhile ago."

"What happened to her? Why was she in a home?"

"Aurora can't talk. She isn't autistic like Sade, but something went wrong while she was en utero, and it robbed her of the ability to speak. She's completely mute, hasn't spoken verbally a day in her life." Wren explained. "She acted out a lot because when she was younger, she was really upset and jealous that everyone around her could talk. My parents were actually afraid of her when she went crazy and put her in a home when she was only six because they actually gave up on her."

Melissa was aghast. "But your parents took Sade for _three years!"_

"Because they wanted to make up for shutting Aurora away. They told me not to tell you, but now that they're the ones in homes, I can finally say it."

"What would have happened if you told me before now?"

"They wouldn't have take Sade. I'm sorry."

Melissa ran her fingers through Wren's hair as he laid his head on her chest, wanting to hear her heartbeat.

"I'm not upset, Wren, I promise." Melissa told him in all honesty, wiping his tears. "I'm a little sad that you had to wait ten years to tell me, but I'm not upset. Do you know where Aurora is? You make it sound like you lost her."

"We sort of did." Wren sniffled. "Aurora aged out of the home when she was twenty and she left. We haven't seen her since."

"She could be anyw—mmf!"

The seriousness of the situation was derailed when the baby gave Melissa an unexpected jab in the stomach, making her groan and sit up.

"It could be worse, little one." Melissa told the baby as it changed positions. "You could have monster hiccups like sissy Spencer did."

_KICK! KICK! KICK!_

The baby just kept kicking harder, apparently amused by Melissa's misery. Totally unamused, Melissa burst into frustrated tears, making it Wren's turn to do the comforting.

"Deep breaths, my love." He sat up, and with one hand, he wiped her tears while placing the other over her heart. "Deep, deep breaths."

Wren had a tendency to fuss over Melissa when she was distressed—and even more so when she was pregnant—because after a decade as best-friends-turned-lovers, they'd seen each other through all sorts of things and always knew how to calm each other.

Melissa soon steadied her breathing and offered Wren a small smile.

"Tell me something that's good." She begged him. "Please."

"Well," Wren kissed his girlfriend on the lips. "Tomorrow is the day when we find out if the baby actually is a girl."

Melissa's heart fluttered with joy at the thought. "I have a name I really, really want for a girl."

"And just what would that be?"

"Emily."

"Emily," Wren echoed. "Like Spencer's Emily?"

Melissa nodded. "I know the name is really popular, but I've always liked it, plus… I've always had a soft spot for Emily Fields."

"Even if past actions haven't always displayed it, that's quite true." agreed Wren. "That's actually the name of my angel sister."

"All the more reason to use it, then." Melissa decided. "Emily Fields took care of me at the Brew today, after I fainted, and made sure that we were okay. She's got a beautiful heart, and anyone would be honored to be named after her."

"Indeed they would be." Wren palmed Melissa's belly, tracking the baby's movements. "What about middle names for her, then?"

Melissa thought about it. "Well, we've got Spencer Autumn Rose and Sade's middle names are for our mothers, which means that Autumn, Rose, Veronica, and Elspeth are all out. What about Doveva? It's Hebrew for graceful."

"That's quite beautiful. For a full name what about Emily Doveva Hope?"

"And that is just perfect."

Wren smiled and leaned forward, showering Melissa's belly with kisses before framing it in his hands and speaking directly to their offspring.

"Are you our little Emily Doveva Hope? Give mummy and I a nudge, and we'll take that as a yes."

Both partners felt a strong nudge from the baby before it turned over, finally settled.

Wren slid off the window seat and stretched before offering Melissa his hand. "Let's get you back to bed."

Melissa felt better, once she and the baby were back in bed, content to snuggle and dream with Wren and Sade for a few more hours.

Yes, this had been a shitty Thanksgiving, and it would be a long time before she would like the holiday again, but one small thing she had in her favor as she finally fell asleep was that her slumber was completely dreamless.


	24. Chapter 24

**There are different ways to say the name Sade, and the most common way is _sha-day,_ but when I write it, I hear it as _say-d. _That's all :)**

* * *

Melissa's appointment wasn't for quite awhile the next day, but since neither she nor her beau even felt like leaving the house beforehand, they watched as everyone did their part to clean up after breakfast before they all made plans for the day and left.

Melissa and Wren even became Sade-free because when Veronica came home, she decided to take her new children on a train trip into the city so they could all have some time away from Rosewood because both Sunday and Henry were very impressionable and absorbed everything they heard like sponges. Veronica wanted to get them away from town for awhile because all anyone was talking about—no matter where she went—was the Vanderwaal family and their bad luck.

Knowing how much Sade liked trains and also noticing that she really opened up around Sunday and Henry, Veronica extended her grandbaby an invitation, too. Sade surprised everyone—even herself—by agreeing to go.

It was just as well, though.

* * *

"Hello? Anyone home?"

Melissa was just cleaning up from a light lunch when the side door opened to reveal Aria, completely dolled up in a new outfit and adorable as she always was, letting herself in.

"Hey, Aria." Melissa beckoned the girl over. "Are you looking for Spencer?"

Aria shook her head as she perched herself on one of the stools at the island. "No. She and Toby went to run an errand, but both of them are going to meet me, Emily, Alison, and Hanna here because we decided to go into the city to get away, even if it's just for awhile, you know?"

"I do, yes." Melissa nodded. "Well, Wren and I aren't going out for a little bit longer yet, so you're welcome to stay in here."

"Thanks, Melissa." smiled Aria. "I just got here first, and when I saw the cars in the driveway, I took a chance."

"Took a chance on what?" A new voice asked.

Both brunettes turned to see Wren entering the room, so Melissa explained the situation to him.

"Ah." Wren said when he had a better understanding. "Retail therapy?"

"Mostly for Hanna, but yes." Aria confirmed.

The doctor noticed something was bothering the teenager, so he asked her about it, in a gentle, big brother kind of way.

"Is everything okay, Aria? Besides what happened with Mona? If it's anything with Ezra, just say the word, and I'll set him straight."

"Everything is good on that front, but thanks." Aria smiled at him and chose her next words carefully. "This question is for both of you, but what would you do if you ran into someone you thought was gone, but lived to torture you and the people you really, truly love?"

Aria realized how broad that sounded when she said it because it covered a lot of people they all knew.

"Depends on who you're talking about." Wren finally said.

"And the level of misery they cause." added Melissa.

"The misery level is home wrecker, and as for who the person is, it's Meredith Sorenson. Do either of you know her?"

"No." Wren shook his head and turned to Melissa. "What ab—oh, dear. What's that look?"

Melissa suddenly looked like she'd just seen something unpleasant.

"I've known Meredith Jayne Sorenson for many, many years."

Aria's nose wrinkled in confusion. "How did you even cross paths with her? Isn't she younger than you?"

"By a few years, but that is neither here nor there. What's relevant is that Meredith is a violin prodigy. A long time ago, she beat me for a violin music scholarship and really, really rubbed it in my face. We were already rivals by that point, but her victory was the last straw and we've been the bitterest of rivals ever since."

"Huh." Aria said for lack of nothing better to say right off the bat. "Well, Meredith is the one responsible for breaking up my parents' marriage. I just saw her at the Grille, but last I knew of her, she'd left town awhile ago!"

"Did Meredith see you?" inquired Melissa.

"No."

"Then I think you're good. This would be one of those cases where you just let the sleeping dogs lie."

"Are you sure?"

"One hundred percent. I'm sure you know by know that talking to that woman is like beating a beehive with a bat."

"I couldn't think of a more accurate way to put it." Aria laughed hollowly. "Letting the sleeping dogs lie in a town like this isn't impossible, but…"

There it is, Melissa thought as Wren asked, "But what, Aria?"

"She was alone, but she's got a baby belly."

Melissa opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came to mind because from what she remembered of Meredith, she wasn't maternal. The true Meredith was vicious and power-hungry at all times.

Wren sensed Melissa's distress and massaged her lower back as he spoke to Aria.

"Are you sure?"

"Mhm. She's massively pregnant, Wren."

"If she's that far along and she came back to a town like this that she doesn't have any real ties to, then her boyfriend or… whatever is probably nearby."

"Should I still let the sleeping dogs lie?"

Melissa got her say in for that. "Now that we know she's pregnant? No doubt. As far as intelligence goes, she's in the same league as Alison, CeCe, Jenna, and maybe even Spencer, so I wouldn't put it past her to turn dangerous if she was pushed far enough."

"Holy crap. Do we tell the others?"

Melissa sighed, realizing she and Wren had been dragged into yet another thing.

"No way."

A car door slammed outside and when Aria recognized Spencer's and Toby's voices coming up the way, she said goodbye to her present company and went out to greet her friends.

Melissa turned to Wren when they were alone and opened her mouth to say something about the conversation they'd just had, but words were failing her again.

"I don't know, either, my love," Wren said, reading Melissa's mind. "But we have our own lives to live. Let's get ready to go."

* * *

Melissa couldn't help it, but she couldn't stop thinking about their chat with Aria.

First CeCe comes back, but now _Meredith, _too?

Where the hell _had_ she gone after leaving Rosewood?

At least CeCe had changed sides and genuinely wanted to be friends, even before she'd dropped the bomb about her ties to the Hastings and DiLaurentis families, and at least she'd befriended Veronica and Wren, promised not to go after Peter for being such a jerk, and actually wanted to—in her own ways—make amends with Spencer and Company.

But then logic dictated that Meredith's baby daddy was also in town… right?

And if CeCe had earned the status of 'pregnant widow' in _France,_ of all places, anything was possible. Melissa wouldn't have been surprised at this point if she knew the father of Meredith's baby.

* * *

"Melissa?" Wren kissed her cheek. "Where'd you go?"

They were at the doctor's office, with her on the examination table and dressed in a proper paper gown. The garment was drawn all the way back, exposing her bare belly to the cool air of the room and while the temperature made Melissa shiver, the baby actually stayed still, no doubt happy that Melissa wasn't moving about as she usually did.

Doctor Goodwin was nearby, prepping the ultrasound machine.

"Just thinking about what Aria said about Meredith."

"How about we put that aside for a minute?" he brushed his love's hair out of her eyes and smiled lovingly at her. "Now is your last chance to change your guess about the baby's gender."

"Please." Melissa scoffed. "I was right about Spencer, Sade, and even Taylor."

"Taylor, too, huh?"

Melissa nodded. "And let's be real—you want another baby daughter, too."

"Yeah, that's true." Wren admitted sheepishly. "I suppose we'll have a son one day, but I really, really love having daughters."

"Well," Doctor Goodwin approached Melissa with a tube of ultrasound gel in her hand. "Are you ready to see the gender of your baby?"

Melissa and Wren were ready and it appeared that the baby was quite ready to stop being so enigmatic because it spread its little legs wide just long enough, allowing Doctor Goodwin to deliver some pretty spectacular news.

"Congratulations, you two: your precious little one is a healthy baby girl!"

And just like that, Melissa and Wren turned to mush.

They were getting their precious Emily Doveva Hope.


	25. Chapter 25

Spencer and Sade were delighted to find out they were getting another sister, and Melissa surpirsed herself when she had the willpower to tell them that they'd have to wait until they met the baby for the first time to find out her name.

At any rate, Melissa and Wren were very satisfied with what they had picked out.

Emily Dovea Hope Kingston-Hastings.

Quite a mouthful, but full of promise and… _hope._

But Emily was coming from a long line of sisters with regal-sounding names.

Sade Veronica Elspeth.

Taylor Amelia Charlotte.

Spencer Autumn Rose.

Spencer, Taylor, Sade, Emily.

Her treasures.

* * *

The following morning, Melissa woke with a desire to visit Alaina at toy shop, so she did.

Wren and Sade were out, anyway.

It turned out that Alaina was having a slow day, so she was happy for a distraction.

* * *

"Hello, sweetheart." The older woman greeted her as she took Melissa's things after she accepted an invitation to help and hang out for awhile. "How are you?"

"Really good, actually." Melissa wondered if she should tell Alaina about Meredith. "How about you?"

"Just splendid—my firstborn, Abigail, just found out that she's expecting again."

In addition to Paige, Mister and Missus McCullers had five other adult children: Abigail, Junior, Natalie, Elizabeth, and Madeline. Abigail and Junior were twins.

"Aww, that's wonderful; congratulations!"

Alaina accepted the well-wishes and then eyed Melissa curiously.

"You found something about your baby, didn't you?"

Melissa nodded, putting her hands on her belly as Emily kicked around. "It's another girl, and we're going to name her Emily Doveva Hope."

Alaina cooed over name in a grandmotherly way, complimenting it. She had eight grandbabies—including the one on the way—and because she loved Melissa so much, she'd accepted the girl and her family as part of her own.

As they set to work of organizing and dusting, Melissa found herself telling Alaina about Aria's Meredith sighting.

"And according to Aria," finished Melissa. "Meredith is really, _really_ pregnant."

"Oh, boy. What do you think?"

"So very many things, but knowing Meredith and the types of men she goes after or attracts, her kid's dad is either as conniving as she is, or some poor sap she's lured into a trap."

Alaina raised her eyebrows. "Why are you painting this girl to be a black widow spider?"

Inwardly, Melissa's heart skipped a beat: she knew of the latest version of the 'Uber A,' the 'Black Widow,' but it had only just occurred to her that Meredith could easily fit the profile.

"Because she _is_ one."

"What would you do if you two crossed paths? Would you let the sleeping dogs lie, as you and Wren advised Aria to do?"

"If she and I weren't both pregnant, I'd pick a fight with her."

"Would it be justified?"

Melissa didn't have a good answer for that, but she didn't have long to wait to see how a conversation with Meredith would go.

Alaina had just gone back to the inventory room—something about needing to get some tubs of stuffed unicorns—and instructed Melissa to mind the front room until she returned.

"Melissa Hastings, is that you?"

The brunette looked up at the sound of her name and felt her eyes widen slightly when she saw none other than Meredith Jayne Sorenson, herself.

"Meredith," Melissa forced herself to be nice to the girl as she crossed over to her. "How are you? I heard about your expectant condition—congrats!"

"Thank you." Meredith beamed and touched a hand to her massive bump as the baby turned over. "The little guy is due in January, and we're thinking of calling him Oliver. At the rate he kicks me, though, I wouldn't be surprised if he came early."

Before she could offer Meredith any sympathy, the door to the shop opened agin.

To reveal _Peter._

Melissa couldn't help it, but she stared at her father, mouth hanging open more as she watched Peter hug Meredith a hug and a peck on the cheek; that was more affection than she'd seen him give to Veronica in the time leading up the divorce. All the affection he'd given her in that time had been forced.

And then before she could stop herself, Melissa swore loudly.

"Dad? What the bloody hell?"

(Okay, so it was a swear she'd picked up in England, but whatever)

Peter was genuinely surprised to see Melissa, a stark difference in comparison to the smug expression on Meredith's face. A look that went unnoticed by Peter because he looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"Melissa, what are you doing here?"

"My friend owns this shop, and she's in the back." Melissa gestured between Peter and Meredith. "Dad, do you even remember who this girl _is, _or that she's closer to _Spencer's_ age than mine?"

"I can explain—"

"Oh, really?" Melissa challenged. "Is Meredith's kid yours? Do I have _another_ little sibling because you couldn't k—"

"That's enough out of you!" Peter interrupted, his wit and verbal sparring skills finally at the ready again.

"HEY!"

Alaina had returned and set the tub of unicorns on a nearby table. Used to breaking up fights because the McCullers family wasn't without its own weirds like Peter, Alaina placed herself strategically so she could intervene quickly if she had to.

"What's going on?"

Melissa spoke first. "Auntie, this is my father, Peter, and… Meredith."

Rather than kick Peter and Meredith out on principle, Alaina turned on the charm. "Nice to meet both of you. Is there anything I can help you with?"

Meredith glanced down at the stuffed animal in her hands—a giraffe—and held it out.

"I'd like to buy this, please."

Peter put a hand on Meredith's arm and spoke gently to her. "I'll get it, and then we can go, okay?"

"Is your car here?"

"Uh-huh." Peter fished his car keys out of his pocket and gave them to her. "See you in a minute."

Meredith nodded and turned on her heel, exiting the toy store.

Melissa followed her and waited until Meredith had settled in the the front passenger seat of Peter's Mercedes-Benz but wouldn't move out of the way, forcing Meredith to leave the door open.

_"What?"_

"Don't you 'what' me, little girl. _You're_ the reason my parents got divorced."

Meredith let out a harsh bark of laughter. "Your parents' marriage was already irreparable by the time I showed up. Let's just say that I… nursed him back to health."

"Okay, _ew." _Melissa shuddered as she worked quickly to get that image out of her brain. "About your son, is he—"

"Your baby brother? No, so go ahead and breathe, okay?"

Melissa did.

"But I've certainly played Peter Hastings for a chump." Meredith laughed again. "That was _not_ easy."

"Why, you bitch—you're leading him on!"

Meredith's eyes flashed dangerously. "Wrong: I'm giving your father a chance to start over!"

Melissa crossed her arms. "If you're doing that, then who in the world is your kid's father?"

"You'll figure it out—God only knows this town is more than small enough so that you could run into him without realizing it before you go through the process of elimination. If I found _you_ by accident, you can most _certainly_ find _him."_

Had Meredith found Melissa in McCuller's Toys by accident, though?

"You're sure that Oliver isn't my brother?"

Melissa knew full well that Meredith slept around.

"Yes."

"Will you tell me where you went after you left Rosewood the last time?"

"No." Meredith leaned back and buckled her seatbelt. "That would be too easy."

She glanced past Melissa to see Peter coming out of the toy store with a bag that looked to contain much more than a giraffe stuffi.

"Anything else?"

"Not now, no."

"Good. Stand back."

Melissa did as she was told and Meredith promptly slammed her door shut just as Peter walked up to them.

"You haven't been bothering Meredith, have you?"

Melissa rolled her eyes theatrically. "No, dad, but I should warn you—"

"Nope." Peter waved a hand of dismissal. "Don't want to hear it."

He started going around to the driver side of the car.

"Okay," Melissa called after him. "But I better not hear you begging me for a clue when your minx actually stumps you!"

Peter ignored Melissa, got in his car and drove away.

"Everything okay now?"

Alaina had come to join Melissa.

"For the time being." Melissa sighed and forced herself to tear her eyes away from where Peter's car had merged into traffic and look at her second mother. "I'm sorry that you had to see that."

"It's okay, Melissa." Alaina gave her a gentle pat on the back. "How about you come help me put away the unicorns, hm?"

Melissa grinned, knowing that Alaina was giving her a chance to think about something normal.

"That sounds like a very good idea. Lead the way."


	26. Chapter 26

**Am I writing to any empty room, or what? I dropped a bombshell in the last chapter, and not a bite! I have plans for this, and they depend on your reactions!**

* * *

Melissa told Wren about her encounter with Peter and Meredith, and he was just as appalled about it as she had been.

They told the twins about it together, and CeCe ended up having to exercise a great deal of self-restraint (for the sakes of Helene and Benoît) to not go and hunt Meredith down just for purposefully choosing to get into the more tangled side of things. The blonde's instinct to want to cause harm to the people who wronged her family made Melissa wonder if her little sister had been an assassin in her past life.

On the other hand, it had most definitely been CeCe's idea to get Paige and Caleb involved. That happened quickly.

Collectively, they all decided to refrain from telling Aria, Spencer, Hanna, Emily, and Toby because they had all been through a lot as of late, and this was one thing that was worth getting taken off their plates, even if it was just for a little bit. It was a total no-brainer, though, not to tell Alison, Jenna, and Veronica—her, for a variety of reasons—because two of them were wild cards and the third wasn't worth risking because she was innocent.

* * *

"Melissa, Wren, we need to talk to you."

It was the morning of Mona's funeral, and the tiny Rosewood chapel was filling steadily already. A good portion of town was there, but all of the students and faculty from Rosewood High had turned out to attend.

Melissa had just spotted Meredith sitting alone in one of the back pews. The woman was dressed in a very nice black dress and flats ensemble, and her long blond hair was done up in a wraparound braid with a black ribbon woven in. Even Meredith's make up was done in a simple way because she didn't want to draw attention to herself.

But being who she was, Meredith was also sporting an elaborate gold hand bracelet on her left hand, no doubt a gift from her baby daddy… or Peter. The bracelet covered Meredith's entire left hand, and its chains kept jostling every now and then when she rested her hand on her bump as the baby kicked her.

Meredith looked angelic and lost in thought.

"I'm sorry," Melissa said as she regained her senses. "What was that?"

"We need to talk—all of us." Paige repeated.

"Seriously?" Jason, on Melissa's left, questioned.

"Have you not seen where we are?" CeCe added.

"We wouldn't talk about it here if it wasn't important." Caleb rolled his eyes. "Where did Sade go?"

"She's with Veronica." provided Wren. "Let's just get this over with, shall we?"

And so they all snuck off into a side room, unseen.

Or so they thought.

* * *

Just as Paige began explaining things, the door to the office she and the others were borrowing opened. They all stopped talking abruptly, as they had no idea who would be the one to talk them out of their current situation because there was no telling—thanks to the door being windowless—who was about to enter.

It turned out to be Ezra.

"There you all are." He breathed a sigh of relief, happy to see them. "Aria and the girls were starting to wonder."

"Don't just stand there!" CeCe beckoned him in. "Shut the door and find a spot!"

Ezra did so and leaned against the nearest wall as he surveyed the scene before him. "What did I just walk in on?"

Everyone instinctively turned to Melissa, awaiting her approval.

"We can't exactly tell him to get lost now, can we?"

From her spot on the little sofa, Melissa looked over at Ezra.

"What has Aria told you about my family?"

Because of the loose ties Melissa had to the A Team, she knew exactly how much Aria trusted Ezra and vice versa. She wouldn't use the current situation to go on a power play, but she could, if she so desired.

"That you're actually Spencer's mother, and that your parents recently got divorced." Ezra shifted his weight from one foot to the other, feeling awkward. "And I don't know if this has anything to do with your family, but Aria has recently run into the woman who broke up her parents' marriage—Meredith Sorenson."

Melissa gave a hollow laugh. "Meredith is a longtime rival of mine, and she also happens to be the reason why we're having this gathering in the first place. And yes—we do know she's out in the chapel right now."

Ezra didn't know exactly what was going on, but it was clear that it was too late to back out anymore.

"Wasn't Meredith chased out of town?"

"Yes." Paige nodded. "She's back now, and Caleb and I have clues about why—other than the fact that she's almost eight months pregnant. You're not going to go blabbing now, are you?"

"Nope." Ezra answered smartly. "I'm all in."

Satisfied, Paige began the explanation again, but before she and Caleb could say anything that actually mattered, the door opened again, this time to reveal Spencer, Toby, Emily, and Hanna, each with surprised looks on their faces. They had decided to go looking for Ezra when he didn't come back, but the sight before them was way more than they'd bargained for.

Spencer was the first one to speak. "What the hell is going on, here?"

"Spencer," Melissa started. "I can explain—"

"That you, your siblings, Wren, _Ezra, Paige, and Caleb_ are all meeting in secret on the day of Mona Vanderwaal's _funeral?"_

"Yes, but—"

She didn't get to finish because Hanna had taken center stage, stalking up to Caleb and staring him down. "Is this where you keep disappearing off to every now and then? Are you and Paige on _their_ side now?"

"First of all, _'they' _have names, and second: _'they' _don't bite." Caleb said quickly. "Plus, Paige and I have never been on any particular side because we're the renegades. Every war has one or two."

"Then why are you both here, and this is the first that the rest of us are finding out?" Hanna demanded. "Is this about A?"

Caleb had no choice but to tell his girlfriend the truth. "Yes to the second question, and we were both sworn to secrecy, otherwise we would've said something by now."

"How long have Jason and CeCe been part of… whatever you guys are?"

"Awhile, and so have Paige and I. Ezra just walked in five minutes ago, literally."

"Go ahead and tell them everything, why don't you?" CeCe snarked from her spot next to Melissa.

"It's not like we've all just been _betrayed, _or anything!" Emily griped sarcastically. "Oh, wait—it _is!"_

The fact that sweet Emily was the one being mean and sarcastic was a bad sign.

Hanna continued to glower at Caleb. "Give us a _real_ timeline about how long this has been going on!"

Caleb, the lucky bastard, was rescued from having to answer because the office door had opened for a third time. Veronica had found them.

"What's going on?"

She was really tempted to swear but didn't because she was carrying Ruby. Nevertheless, she looked intimidating.

Spencer coughed up an answer first. "My friends and I have just been betrayed by Melissa and her posse. I don't know about everyone else, but I'll not be talking to them for awhile."

Sighing because she knew full well how long her daughters could go without speaking to each other, Veronica spoke authoritatively.

"Does _any_ of this have to do with why Aria's parents took one look at that Meredith Sorenson girl and chose a seat as far away from her as possible?"

Melissa's response came out a little sharper than she intended. "It has everything to do with that."

"I see."

Veronica struggled to continue to be the adult in the room because she knew full well of the impact that Byron Montgomery's infidelity had had on Ella.

"Do I even want to know the rest of the details?"

A resounding_ "No!"_ from the others was all the answer that Veronica needed. "Okay, then—I'll just add this to the list of 'things I'm not supposed to know about,' and I won't talk about it unless one of you is in peril."

Veronica readjusted her hold on Ruby so she could open the door a little easier.

"I'm talking to all of you now, _children, _when I say that I'm not surprised if you're hiding from Alison or someone, but I need each and every one of you to be mature now, and go out to the sanctuary. The Vanderwaals have pews reserved for you lot. Scoot your cabooses, all of you."

They all filed past her like a herd of guilty schoolchildren and went to claim their seats.

Life in Rosewood, especially with Veronica thrown into the mix, was never dull.

* * *

Because the Vanderwaals were simply too devastated, Melissa offered to deliver Mona's eulogy and even though she had material prepared, she could barely make it through because she remembered at that moment how she'd told Wren that Mona had been like her daughter. And there she was, giving a speech about the life of another one of her children, gone too soon.

* * *

By the time she was ready for bed that evening, Melissa was also thinking about what had happened earlier—when they'd been busted—and she decided that she really couldn't blame Spencer and her friends for treating the ordeal as a conspiracy because it almost was one.

And going in, she and her siblings and Wren and Paige and Caleb had all realized that what they were doing totally constituted as betrayal material.

Even Ezra saw the situation in black and white, and had joined in the blink of an eye, no doubt wanting to be able to do something that could save himself (and hopefully Aria) because he already knew he was better off safe than sorry. He'd already been a casualty of this war a few times, and this was no ordinary war.

It was a fight where having the most up-to-date information was the key to making it out alive.

* * *

Melissa hadn't truly been able to bring herself into admitting that she'd betrayed her own daughter until _Emily_ had called them out.

And then she heard Spencer in Toby's room, weeping.

Melissa had never felt so ashamed of herself.


	27. Chapter 27

It wasn't until early December, when Veronica decided she was at her wit's end with Spencer and Melissa not talking to each other, that she gathered all of the adults in her home together for a conversation.

She also found herself hoping that Spencer and Melissa would at least be civil.

* * *

"Okay, mom." said Melissa as they all got comfortable in the living room. "What's up?"

"I've been doing some thinking lately, and I don't just mean you and Spencer not talking to each other."

"No?"

"No. I mean that this house is filled with more people actually living in it that I've ever seen at any one point, and that's really saying something because of how long I've lived here and how long it's been mine."

Spencer jumped the gun, blurting the first thing that came to her mind. "Are you kicking us out?"

"No, baby girl, nothing of that sort."

Spencer took a deep breath and exhaled slowly; sometimes she caught herself waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"None of you have to say yes right away, but I've noticed that all of you have been hit hard by all of the crazy things that have happened since Melissa and Wren came back from England. All of it is enough to sideline anyone."

Melissa, Wren, Spencer and Toby were all watching her with bated breath.

"I know I offered this place to those of you recovering from those events, but I am now extending the invitation to all four of you for the next few years, and even permanently, if you want."

Melissa, Spencer, and the guys were each looking at her in surprise now.

"Really?" Melissa asked in near disbelief. "You would do that?"

Veronica nodded, knowing that Melissa was no doubt thinking about how the severity of her bipolar disorder—even when she was medicated—had long ago caused her to accept that when she finally settled down, she was going to make her home close to Rosewood or in it, if not out in the barn.

"Yes, Missy Jo, I would."

"Even though we want a big family?"

Melissa hadn't yet told her mother about hers and Wren's hope to find Aurora and bring her home.

"Like I said, there's plenty of room in this house, and then some. The barn is its own house en miniature, and I'm sure there's enough room to raise a family in it."

"You're not wrong."

Melissa couldn't say anything more after that because baby Emily was feeling ignored, so she chose that moment to kick and elbow her mother, forcing Melissa to devote her attention to her.

Veronica turned to Wren with an inquiring look. "What do you think?"

"I'm surprised, that's for certain, but thankful for the offer." He answered honestly, holding Melissa close when she leaned against him. "We shall discuss it soon."

"Good." Veronica turned to Spencer and Toby. "Do you two have any thoughts about this yet?"

Spencer became quizzical of the woman who had raised her. "You're not attaching any strings, are you?"

Veronica shook her head. "No strings attached, I promise. I'm just offering my family a safe place to live."

From where he sat in his wheelchair, Toby became taken aback by the last part of what Veronica had said.

"You consider me family now?" He asked her.

"I've thought of you as part of my family for the past few years, Toby, and even if you and Spencer didn't have a baby on the way right now, I still would. Certain situations have prevented me from saying it."

Toby suddenly felt a rush of affection towards his girlfriend's mother that he hadn't felt towards anyone but his own mother. He'd have to get her a really good Christmas present.

"Wow!" To his credit, Toby actually turned slightly red. "Thanks!"

Spencer, meanwhile, had become lost in thought as she traced shapes on her bump. The baby liked it when she did that.

True, she was already very mature for age and had grown up quite a bit in a very short amount of time, but she still felt new in the area of making 'adult, grown-up choices,' as Toby phrased them.

"God only knows that we need this just a little bit more than Melissa and Wren do." she said when Veronica looked at her. "It's just a lot to consider."

"Which is why," Veronica spoke in a tone of wrapping things up. "Nobody has to give me an answer straight away. It's just food for thought."

She stopped talking suddenly, as a sound elsewhere in the house caught her attention.

"If you all will excuse me now, it sounds like Ruby has woken from her nap."

And as she usually did, Veronica made a graceful exit, knowing that the others were staring after her.

Spencer broke the silence first, speaking to Wren. "Would you please help me up? Toby and I have to go."

The teenager was now at the stage of her pregnancy where she sometimes needed help getting up. If Toby wasn't still in his cast and wheelchair-bound, she would've asked him.

"Of course." Wren stood and stretched before helping the girl up. "Where are you going?"

Ever since he witnessed Spencer go postal before her trip to Radley and even more since he'd gotten really serious with Melissa, Wren had come to think of Spencer more as a baby sister. He now looked out for her in a big brotherly way.

"To the doctor's office for me because today we find out the baby's gender, and then to a check up for Toby."

"Well, be safe."

Spencer promised she would and left the room, pushing Toby's wheelchair for him as they discussed what the rest of the day was going to look like.

Wren turned back to Melissa, only to see her looking like a sad puppy dog.

Wren said his love's name cautiously. "Melissa?"

"Spencer _still_ won't talk to me, Ruby is with mom, Sade is asleep with Sunny and Hank, and Emily is actually being polite and not kicking me anymore, like she was. I need a baby to hold, but none of mine are available."

Wren thought quickly, hoping Melissa wouldn't smite him. "Would you at least like some ice cream, love?"

Luckily, Melissa nodded. "Yes, please. Don't forget the peaches for the topping!"

"I would be remiss to forget them, your majesty." Wren gave a playful, sweeping bow that caused Melissa to actually giggle. "I will return shortly."

I wish I could make the world less of a broken place for her, he thought as he made his way to the kitchen. I'd do anything for that to happen.

* * *

It only took both couples living at 23 Bridgewater Terrace a week to accept Veronica's offer, and once they did, Melissa noticed a complete change in her mother's overall attitude: she was truly happy.

Melissa hadn't seen her mother so happy in many, many years, and it filled her with joy.

* * *

Before long, it was Christmas Eve and Rosewood had transformed into a scene out of a Thomas Kincaid holiday painting. It was truly beautiful.

All of that being said, Melissa remained wary of how A had gone radio-silent since Thanksgiving, and also of how Jenna and Alison hadn't done anything remotely shady in awhile. Melissa had even seen the ready-to-pop Meredith about town, sometimes with Peter, and Melissa would wonder what things were going to be like when Meredith dumped him.

That was inevitable, and it was going to be tragic.

In the long run, Melissa decided to spend time with her family and enjoy them.

* * *

"Goodness me. I can't wait until Helene and Benoît get here."

CeCe said this as she and Melissa rose from the church pew they'd been sitting in and headed over to the candle display.

The pair hadn't hung out in awhile, and as it was Christmas Eve, the church was open until midnight for anyone who wanted to come in and light candles or just sit and reflect awhile. Both sisters had a desire to do just that, so they ended up going together.

"You're all ready, then, huh?"

CeCe nodded. "All that's missing from the nursery is the babies."

"You said once that you want them out because Helene is camped out by your ribs, won't move, and keeps kicking Benoît just because she can."

"Yeah, there's that, too."

Right on cue, Helene kicked Benoît, waking him from his nap and causing both of them to kick each other and ultimately, CeCe. Their fights had been known to go on for an hour or more.

"Be glad you've only got one baby in there." CeCe told her sister as she held a hand in the small of her back to relieve the ache she was already beginning to feel. "Although… now that you know twins run in the family, who knows? You could end up with twins your next time around."

Melissa shuddered at the thought. "Don't tell Wren. He'd be delighted, and I can only think about carrying one baby at a time."

CeCe wanted so badly to continue teasing her sister, but since they were at church, they had to remain composed, so she changed the subject as they approached the display of lit candles.

"Take this," She handed Melissa one of the long lighting sticks before taking one for herself. "And let's think of other things."

The two were soon lighting candle after after candle in remembrance for those they'd lost, and for the peace they wished for.

A little bit later, there was a movement in the chapel doorway that alerted them to Jason's arrival. He had come to take CeCe home.

"I gotta go." CeCe lit one last candle and set her lighting stick back in its holder. "Are you going to be okay?"

Having earlier expressed a wish to stay behind a little bit longer, Melissa gave her sister's hand a squeeze of reassurance as she nodded. "I'll be fine, sweetie, and we'll see you and Jason in the morning at eight for breakfast and presents, right?"

CeCe nodded. Tomorrow was to be the first proper Christmas she'd ever had, and she couldn't wait.

"We're looking forward to it!"

"That's what I like to hear."

With one final farewell, CeCe left Melissa to her thoughts.

* * *

Melissa wasn't sure how long she stayed, lighting candles for her angel babies, but when she finally looked around, she saw that she was the only person left, so she took that as a sign to go.

She was almost to her car when when she suddenly became aware of someone walking behind her, their heavy footsteps crunching on the snow. Before Melissa was able to discern if the person was friendly or not, she felt them grab one of her arms and use their other hand to stick something hard and metal to her spine.

A gun.

When Melissa looked down to study the person's hand—because she had a strong feeling that she'd be harmed if she even turned around—all she saw was a distinct black leather glove.

That's when Melissa became scared for her life.

She knew only one person that wore gloves like that.

A.


	28. Chapter 28

**Don't worry—I won't let Melissa get into too much peril. I'm not that heartless.**

* * *

Melissa had only ever gotten involved with the A Team because she found them by accident.

What she hadn't banked on was getting owned—and fought over—by Alison, Jenna, and Mona.

The biggest thing Melissa hadn't banked on after she realized she was the top favorite of the bat-shit crazy trio, and that CeCe was Red Coat and had chosen to protect her, was the possibility of being abducted. Yet, here she was, twenty-four weeks pregnant and an abduction victim of the anonymous A-Monster.

* * *

A frogmarched Melissa to a waiting van and as the driver put the pedal to the metal and they sped off, A made quick work of blindfolding her, binding her hands and wrists together, and for good measure, taping her mouth shut, too.

* * *

Melissa lost track of where they could possibly be, but her best guess was outside Rosewood, in the countryside.

Still blindfolded when the car finally stopped, Melissa was led across freezing cold uneven turf, through what felt like a house, and downwards, to a basement.

Positively terrified after she heard A leave and lock the door, Melissa began crying even harder than she already had been, although that soon proved to be a bad thing because not only were her hands bound with duct tape, so she couldn't even take the tape on her mouth off when her breathing became panicky and erratic.

"Melissa?"

The brunette when stock-still as confusion filled her her heart. _Spencer_ was here.

The teenager found her mother and guided her over to a mattress that she'd been sitting on in the corner. It was ugly, lumpy, and all kinds of dirty, but it was better than the cold hard floor.

"Shhh." Spencer found herself soothing her mother as she undid the tape on her mouth first. "Shhh, shhh, shhh."

"Spencer." Melissa gasped when she finally caught her breath. "Talk to your sister."

"What?"

"Please, baby girl? She needs to be calm, and I can't help her now."

Spencer heard the desperation in her mother's tone and did as asked, with no further stalling, speaking lovingly as she could to her sister. Melissa still couldn't see, but she just knew that from the way Emily was calming down in response to Spencer's voice, the two were already forging a close bond.

When Spencer felt sure that her sister had settled, she worked on freeing Melissa of the rest of her bindings, massaging her hands and wrists when those were free.

"Why are we here, Spence?" Melissa asked her. "Do you know _where_ we are?"

"No. All that I know is that at some point, I was knocked unconscious and then woke up in this basement."

"Does anybody know you're gone? What about Toby?"

A story that involved a carjacking in a quiet, empty side of town on the way home from a holiday party and Toby getting pulled from the car came tumbling from Spencer's mouth, and by the end, she was a broken, sobbing mess.

"Come here, baby." Melissa cooed, slipping into 'mama bear' mode and reaching for Spencer. "Mommy's here. Mommy's here."

Spencer practically flew into her mother's arms and cried into her shoulder, accepting kisses and cuddles from her because she just needed her.

"Somebody will find us." Melissa told her daughter after she'd cried herself out.

_"When?"_ Spencer whimpered.

"In time, angel." Melissa wiped Spencer's tears. "Tell me something about your little one, hm? It's been awhile since you've given me an update."

Spencer exhaled shakily. "It's a girl."

Melissa's heart leapt again, resulting in a hard kick from Emily. "Really?"

"Mhm." Spencer nodded. "Toby is over the moon about it, and when we told Aria, Hanna, Emily, and Alison, they were so happy."

The mention of her loved ones made her heart go to pieces and she wanted to cry more, but was distracted when she felt something a little off… like she had an insane case of stomach butterflies.

"Oh, wow…"

Hardly daring to believe what she was feeling from her own body at a time like this and held a palm firmly over her belly, just in time to feel a pair of tiny feet kicking her over and over again.

"What is it?" Melissa wanted to know.

"Here." Spencer held one of her mother's hands over the spot. "We call her Ladybug, and she's kicking for the first time."

The two marveled over the moment, temporarily forgetting their situation.

Their little pocket of happiness was disrupted all too quickly a few moments later as the sounds of a man and a woman could be heard right above them.

Then a harsh sound pierced the air: _SLAP!_

"What the hell?" shrieked the woman. "Can't you see I'm still carrying your child?"

"Well, you wouldn't have earned that if YOU _HADN'T LET THEM GO!"_

The woman matched the man's loud tone. "BUT I _HAD_ TO—ONE LITERALLY CANNOT SAY A WORD, AND THE OTHER CAN BARELY TALK, AS IT IS! DON'T YOU _DARE_ GO AFTER THEM, YOU BASTARD!"

As the captives listened to their kidnappers fight, Spencer put a hand on Melissa's arm. "Is that _Meredith_ up there?"

"Sounds like it." Melissa pulled Spencer close, ready to protect her. "She's less than a month away from her due date, and I'm not her number one fan, but—"

_SLAP!_

Up above, Meredith had been struck again, but instead of yelling more, she let a sound akin to a wounded animal.

"I just had a contraction, and you know what the doctor said—I have to go to check into a hospital the moment they start! I—_no! _Not the basement! _No, no, no!"_

There was a scuffle of footsteps and then the basement door opened wide enough to let Meredith in before snapping it shut quickly behind her.

"Melissa? Spencer?" Meredith called into the gloom when she reached the bottom of the stairs. "I know you're there."

At Melissa's urging, Spencer got up and approached Meredith, holding out her hand. "We're over here. Come on."

Spencer led her over to the mattress where Melissa was and helped her sit down.

Despite it being the middle of winter, the moon was full and high in the sky, bathing Meredith in a beam of bright moonlight. The woman had clearly seen better days because her beautiful face was marred by a puffy cheek and split lip, as well as a bruise close enough to her left eye made Melissa wonder if it was in danger of swelling shut.

"Meredith," Melissa spoke to the blond with as much compassion as she could muster. "Who's up there?"

Meredith shook her head furiously. "I can't tell you."

"Why's that?"

"Because if you don't kill me, one of _them_ will, and I don't want to die before I can give Oliver life."

"I wouldn't hurt you, Meredith, let alone kill you. Never."

The other woman looked skeptical. "Oh, no?"

"No." Melissa confirmed. "I know you can play dirty, and I know about the things you've done, but I could never _hurt_ you."

Meredith laughed weakly. "Don't speak too soon."

Melissa wanted to ask her what she meant by that but couldn't because a com traction rippled through Meredith's body at that moment, causing her to curl up into a ball. Out of instinct, Melissa and Spencer comforted her until it passed. Even for a first-timer, it looked like Meredith was going through a little extra stress than most women would at this point in labor. Melissa hoped her situation wasn't dire.

When the pain passed, Meredith sat up and looked at Spencer. "If anything happens to me when Oliver comes, promise me that you'll be his mama."

"Excuse me?" was all Spencer could say to that because last time she checked, she and Meredith weren't even friends.

"Promise me." Meredith repeated. "Ollie _cannot_ be with his dad because he doesn't even want him, and would give him up for adoption if something happens to me, and Peter knows I played him now, but I wouldn't dream of asking him."

Filled with tidal waves of regret, Meredith coudln't keep her eyes from filling with tears and she kept wiping them.

"I _cannot_ go knowing that Ollie didn't have someone who loved him when he enters the world."

Meredith's words tugged at Spencer's heartstrings at the same she came to the conclusion that Meredith had taken down Peter's and Veronica's marriage with Peter. Spencer wanted to be mad, but she just couldn't be.

"Okay, Meredith. I promise I'll be Oliver's mother if something happens to you."

"Thank you." Meredith cradled her belly in her hands, doing her best to be close to her son. "Thank you."

More tired than she should have been, Meredith drifted off into dreamland.

Spencer looked at her mother helplessly as Meredith rested her head on her shoulder. "Are we in the Twilight Zone?"

"God, I hope not." Melissa huddled against Spencer's free side for warmth.

"Then just what am I supposed to do?" Spencer snaked an arm around Meredith to hold her close. "I just told a woman whom you don't like, and who also happens to be the one who broke your parents _and_ the Montgomerys that I would adopt her baby boy to keep him safe, just in case."

"You keep your promise, is what."

"And what about my _family, _Melissa? What about Toby?"

"Take it one step at a time. Right now, we just need to focus on thinking good thoughts, or at least figure out where we are."

Spencer still had a one-track mind. "What about Meredith using the phrase 'I cannot go'? She's keeping things, and they must be serious if whomever is upstairs got angry enough to hit her twice."

Melissa sighed. It became more apparent by the year that Spencer had inherited her sense of curiosity from her.

"You're not going to drop this any time soon, are you?"

"Nope." Spencer confirmed. "I'm still trying to figure out who Meredith was talking to when she descried the people whom she let go—the one who can't talk, and the one who can barely talk as it is."

"I think I might know." Melissa said after a moment of wracking her brain. "Oh, no."

"What?" Spencer demanded.

"Wren has a sister a few years older than you, and her name is Aurora, like Sade's favorite Once Upon A Time princess. She got sick before she was born and because of that illness, Aurora has never spoken verbally a day in her life. Wren hasn't seen Aurora in years, and the last time they _did_ see each other, it was in _England."_

"Then how in the world would she have gotten _stateside_ at all?"

"I honestly don't have any ideas about that. I just hope that if it _is_ Aurora, that she and the other person are safe."

"So do I." Spencer agreed. "So do I."


	29. Chapter 29

Veronica was living a nightmare.

Her night had started out nicely enough, staying home with Wren to watch A Miracle On 34th Street while the children slept. Spencer, Toby, and Melissa were out for the evening, doing their own things. The professional decorators Veronica had hired yesterday had done a splendid job of decorating the house and the barn yesterday, and the glorious Christmas tree that stood in the corner had been decorated by everybody just earlier that day. All the little kids—even baby Ruby—were mesmerized by the lights. Good thing she put them all to bed before enlisting Wren's help to put all of the presents out, otherwise it would've been pandemonium.

It wasn't too far into the movie that Veronica received a phone call from the hospital saying that Toby was in the hospital after getting thrown from Spencer's car during a carjacking, while at the same time, Wren got a call from Jason, asking on CeCe's behalf if Melissa had made it home from the church yet.

That was how Veronica came to realize that both of her pregnant daughters had gone missing on Christmas Eve.

* * *

They were quick to alert the rest of their friends to see if they could help retrace Melissa's and Spencer's last steps, and eventually, they all ended up going to camp out at the hospital with Veronica and Wren because they all wanted to be near Toby as he recovered from the effects of being outside in the cold.

Explaining the situation to the little kids wasn't easy, and as Veronica had anticipated, ill-received. Because the little ones were so distressed about their loved ones being lost and then deciding to blame Veronica and Wren for it, Sade sat with Alaina McCullers and said absolutely nothing while Sunday cried into Ashley's shoulder, and Henry hung onto Pam like a baby koala. Ruby, bless her heart, remained oblivious to the drama as she slept soundly in her sling, snug up against Veronica's chest.

* * *

Not long after they arrived at the hospital, a handful of police officers came to take their statements, and that was how they were able learn that it had been CeCe who had last seen Melissa. In the middle of talking to Officer Browning about it, though, CeCe had a very strong contraction. It wasn't her first contraction of the night, or even the day, and she admitted that they were actually getting closer together—every half hour, in fact.

Glad to have something to do, Veronica saw to it that CeCe got taken care of.

* * *

"Madam?"

Realizing that she was being addressed, she saw a female officer standing in the doorway.

"Yes?" Veronica asked.

"I need you out here for a moment, please."

Veronica glanced back towards the bed where CeCe lay sleeping, hooked up to various monitors as she saved her strength for when it really mattered.

Jason was in the room, too, not wanting to stray far from his twin.

"Go ahead and go." He told Veronica. "I'll stay with her and send for you if she asks."

Satisfied and glad that Ruby continued to slumber on, Veronica got up and followed the officer out into the hallway, shutting the door to CeCe's room behind her.

"Has there been something new about my daughters?"

"I'm afraid not, but I do have something else that requires your attention."

The officer motioned towards a chair just across the hallway where a beautiful small, fair-skinned, dark-haired little girl sat, watching them.

"Her name is Megan, and she's three. Do you know her?"

Veronica studied Megan a little more and didn't fail to notice that while the girl was dressed in warm clothes, they were dirty and torn in some places. Her face was also smudged here and there with dirt, grime, and tears. Megan was also shoeless—but not barefoot—and was also sporting a pair of green kid-sized cochlear implants.

The little girl watched them like a baby hawk, and her gaze was piercing. She had clearly been through something traumatic recently, and whatever it was, she wasn't letting it get in the way of whatever it was that she was up to.

Veronica turned back to the nurse, shaking her head. "No, I can't say I do."

"Megan has a note from her mother, and it's addressed to you."

"Where _is_ her mother?"

"She's a newly-admitted patient because she caught hypothermia."

Veronica put a hand over her heart. "But Megan didn't?"

The officer nodded. "Yes, but it's a long story. Megan's mother can't talk, but she wrote a note for you that Megan insisted on delivering herself."

Now feeling like this was the longest night ever, Veronica sat in the empty chair next to Megan.

"Hi, sweet pea. I heard you were looking for me."

"V-Veronica?"

"Yes, Meghan." She nodded. "I'm Veronica."

Although not much older than Sade and in face of her hearing aids, Megan's ability with speech was limited, having been raised by her nonverbal mom.

She was already speaking in a halting tone tinged with an English accent, so Veronica was very patient with her as she stumbled through her next question when she noticed Ruby.

"Y-your b-baby?"

Veronica nodded and let Megan have a peek of the sleeping infant. "That's my Ruby, and she loves when people talk to her, but she's asleep right now."

Megan heaved a dramatic sigh of disappointment. She loved to play with babies.

"I heard that you have something for me." Veronica prompted. "A note from your mama?"

Remembering, Megan handed the note over and Veronica read through it.

_'My name is Aurora Sage Kingston, and this is my daughter, Megan Jade Kingston. I'm the younger sister of Wren Kingston, and I haven't seen him in sometime, but the last time I did, he mentioned your daughter Melissa, and that he wants to marry her one day because she has always been the love of his life. Wren also mentioned you, and that should I ever get into any trouble, to come find your family in Rosewood and stay until he could come get me._

_It's rather a long story of how Megan and I made it to Pennsylvania, but we escaped hell tonight, and now she and I both need help. I would come and find you myself, but I can't leave this bed, so Megan volunteered to make the delivery._

_Even if you don't want to help, please humor Megan and tell her she did a good job in getting the message delivered._

_Hoping to see you soon,_

_Aurora Sage'_

Veronica stood at once, pocketing the letter and gave Megan the praise she had been waiting for. Megan basked in it and finally decided that Veronica was trustworthy, so she trotted alongside the woman like a Labrador puppy as they headed back to Aurora's room. She wasn't even paying attention when Veronica asked the nurse to go get Wren.

* * *

When they arrived, Megan ran straight to her mother's bed and sat with her, explaining the situation.

Aurora looked a little worse for wear than her daughter, but also looked like a princess-like older version of Megan. The most off-putting thing, though, was that Aurora looked like she was two short steps away from being skin-and-bones. The hospital gown she was dressed in and the IV line she was hooked up to certainly enhanced the image.

When she saw Veronica and realized who she was, she beckoned her over.

"Hello, Aurora." Veronica greeted her warmly as she sat on the bed with her. "How are you?"

Remembering that Aurora was completely nonverbal, Veronica waited as she typed out a response in a speech app on an iPad she was holding.

**::I'm on the mend.::** a cool, feminine mechanical voice responded from the tablet. **::I'm glad that Megan found you; a nurse told me that your family is here.::**

"Yes, we are." Veronica nodded. "What is it you need help with? New things for you and Meghan?"

**::That, among other things. Do you know where my brother is?::**

"He's in this hospital, actually, because of an emergency."

**::Melissa and Spencer…::**

Veronica started to ask the young woman what she knew about those two, but she was cut off when Wren finally arrived and saw his long-lost sister. Although still puzzled about how and she had gotten to Pennsylvania from England—and with a small child—he called out to her.

"Aurora? Is that really you?"

Aurora lit up when she saw her brother and set her tablet aside to give him a long-overdue hug.

Veronica moved out of the way and watched as brother and sister got reacquainted, and also as Wren realized that he was uncle now. Megan took a real shine to him and when she pointed out that Aurora was refusing to eat, despite the fact that food had been brought for her, she laughed hysterically as Wren fussed over Aurora like a mother hen and practically threatened to force-feed her.

Now on the sideline, Veronica watched Kingstons, happy that they were together.

In due time, however, her thoughts drifted back to Melissa and Spencer, incredibly sad that they weren't there to witness what she was witnessing.

She also wondered if anybody had anymore leads or clues about where they were.


	30. Chapter 30

**O_O Did I kill everyone with the drama from the last chapter?**

* * *

Over in the hospital waiting room, Emily, Aria, Hanna, and Alison were having a powwow in the corner, away from prying eyes and ears.

"Okay, so what do we do now?"

The question had come from Aria, and naturally, everybody turned to Alison.

"I got nothing." She turned to Hanna. "You?"

"Nope. Everyone else gets ideas before me, anyway." She glanced at Aria. "Please tell me _you_ have something."

"Sorry. Unless one of us gets a text from A to a secret hideout, I'm fresh out of ideas, too."

_DING!_

The girls jumped, Emily in particular, because it had been her phone that made noise.

"What? Just because I didn't say 'not it,' that doesn't mean anything!"

"Yeah," Hanna spoke with a scoff. "But the chances that that text is from A—"

"Is alarmingly high." Aria finished.

_"Where_ is your phone?" Alison shuddered as it chirped again, a reminder. "I might break into hives if you don't answer it!"

Before Emily could even reach for it, Alison dug it from the dark-haired girl's pocket, quick as lightning and held it up triumphantly. Ever since the night she and Emily slept together, they had a habit of invading each other's personal space. Outsiders would sometimes mistake them for a couple when they acted like that.

"Was that really necessary?" Emily griped, smoothing out the skintight fabric of her jeans before snatching the phone back. "That could be from Paige, okay?"

Except for Alaina, the McCullers of Rosewood were on holiday vacation in California, where all of Paige's older siblings lived, and where the McCullers family originally hailed from.

Emily's phone dinged yet again and having had enough, Hanna took the mobile device for herself and looked at the caller ID.

"You guys," she said seriously. "It's from A."

Emily and Alison settled immediately, and Aria nudged the blond holding the phone.

"Han, don't just stand there—tell us what it says!"

"Right. It says _'You have ten minutes to get in your car and start driving. I know where they are. A.' _Sounds like a wild goose chase."

"Well," Emily finally got her phone back and put it away. "It _looks_ like a road trip is in my future."

Emily made to leave, and her friends followed her. When Emily realized what was happening, she turned back and put a hand out to stop them.

"What are you doing?" She hissed.

"Coming with you, Nancy Drew." Hanna answered, rolling her eyes. "Duh."

"Hey—Nancy Drew flew solo!"

"Only _sometimes," _Aria amended. "Because her best friends tagged along every once in awhile to help!"

"Okay, fair enough," Emily conceded. "But I need all of you here to one, keep my parents from flipping out; two, keep Toby company while he's out of it because having _Jenna_ keeping vigil all night will probably give him super weird dreams; and three, to show Spencer's family some support since she's like a sister to all of us. It would look weird if we _all_ bailed right now."

The others decided that that last one was a very good point and all agreed to cover for Emily as she slipped out to the hallway.

Emily was almost to the parking lot when she ran smack dab into her dad.

"I know that look, Emily Jin-Kyong Reyna. Where are you going, and why aren't your friends with you? Safety in numbers, you know."

Emily was taken aback. She'd anticipated running into her dad because he'd left to use the rest room, but now he was all but encouraging her to go rogue. This was new.

"It's about Spencer and Melissa—I think I have an idea of where they could be."

"Oh, really?"

Emily nodded. "Yes, and my friends aren't coming with me because Ezra is."

"Ezra?" Wayne parroted in surprise. "Ezra Fitz?"

"The one and only." Emily pointed down the hallway. "He's there."

As luck would have it, Ezra was already looking for Emily, so when he saw her, he jogged over.

"There you are, Emily. I need to talk to you."

"Okay, great—we can talk about it on the way."

Realizing that Emily was in a bind, Ezra quickly played along. "Yes, and we really should get going now."

Wayne looked at Emily again and sighed. She was a lot like him, and he knew that if he tried to keep her, she'd still figure out a way to leave.

"Okay, Emmy—go ahead and go."

"I—wait, what? What about mom?"

"She's busy holding Henry because she misses the days when you were pint-sized like that, but I'll take care of her. Don't worry."

Without another word, Wayne turned and headed back in the direction of the waiting room, finally leaving Emily and Ezra to their own devices.

* * *

"Okay," Ezra said a few minutes later as they rode away from the hospital in Emily's car. "You got an A text, didn't you?"

"Uh-huh." Emily answered without taking her eyes off the road. "You wouldn't have hurried over to me the way you did unless you got one, too. What did it say?"

"It said, _'Go find Emily. She'll be headed in the right direction soon.' _This is about Spencer and Melissa, isn't it?"

Emily nodded and proceeded to tell him about the text she'd gotten, finishing with, "We technically made it to the car with two minutes to spare, but I have no idea where I'm even _headed_ because I haven't gotten any more instructions."

_DING!_

Ezra's phone chimed this time, and he pulled it out of his pocket to read the latest message. "This one says, _'Get off at Exit Eight and keep going until you hit the cottages.'_ A is beginning to sound like a GPS."

"Exit Eight is Ravenswood-adjacent, Ezra. Caleb has been recently, but he won't talk to it about anyone but Hanna, and that's only once in a blue moon. The girls and I haven't been since… _then…"_

It went without saying that Ezra what she was talking about.

"If we go to Ravenswood, I'll protect you."

_DING!_

Ezra's phone chimed a second time. "It's another A message. _'You have thirty minutes, or there will be consequences.'_ Can you handle it, Emily?"

She nodded. "Yes, I can."

People always underestimated Emily in the bravery department because while Alison was the crazy, fearless, reckless one, Spencer, Aria, and Hanna had always been braver than her.

Tonight, she was going to prove them wrong.

* * *

Meanwhile, Meredith was very awake now, having just finished a contraction.

"Meredith," Melissa said gently as she helper the younger woman sit back up. "Do you know why your contractions have been so close together? Have you been in labor longer than today?"

Almost ashamed, Meredith nodded. "Since early, early this morning, but things really picked up a few hours ago, after I let the other captives go."

This interested Melissa. "What are their names?"

"Aurora and Megan Kingston."

"Wren has a sister named Aurora."

"It's her." Meredith admitted. "I'm sure you know that she doesn't talk because she can't. I learned that the hard way."

Melissa gaped at her. "Are you telling me that Wren's little sister was here—in this house—until a few hours ago?"

Meredith nodded, wincing slightly as Oliver kicked her. "She and her daughter both."

"And her daughter is Megan."

"Right again. Megan was born stone deaf, but I was able to pay for an operation to get her two cochlear implants."

"You would do that kind of thing?"

"I've done _countless_ bad things, but I'm not _completely_ heartl—ouch!"

Baby Oliver had kicked her with both feet, but Meredith merely winced; she wanted to be brave.

Melissa did her best to comfort her. "Oliver is just a little overeager to meet you, that's all."

Meredith shook her head and wiped her tears with the back of her hand. "When I first found out he was on the way, the doctors took my blood pressure and saw that it's very high. I've done everything I can to keep it in check, but nothing's worked."

"Are you sure?"

"Quite, because when I hit the six month mark, the doctors told me that because of the blood pressure problem, the stress my body will be under during the last part of labor could actually kill me. My survival rate is low."

"Then that means you still have a chance."

Meredith shook her head again. "No, I don't. Oliver's father recently decided that since we accidentally made Oliver, we're going to give him up for adoption, regardless of if I make it or not."

"But you don't want to," Melissa realized. "And you can't even run."

"Because Oliver's father owns me. He knows knows about what I've done—hell: _whom_ I've done, even—and all of it is enough to make A, and maybe even Red Coat, to want to get rid of me for good."

Huh, Melissa thought. So she doesn't even know who CeCe really is, or that she's practically harmless now.

"Then what were you doing when I saw you and my dad at the toy shop?"

"Kidding myself, I guess, but the giraffe? I gave it to Megan because she was just getting out of surgery."

Meredith blew out a puff of air as Oliver kicked again, but she soon centered herself. It was imperative that Melissa knew everything, now that time was running out.

"Since I couldn't leave Rosewood, I filled my time with picking a good mother for my boy."

"Then why pick Spencer? She's just a teenager."

"Because she and Oliver—"

Melissa didn't get to find out what Meredith had to say because right at that moment, Spencer hurried over from where she'd had an ear to the thin wall, hoping to eavesdrop on whomever it was that was calling the shots upstairs.

"They're coming, they're coming!"

Melissa didn't even question her firstborn as they sat in front of Meredith, ready to protect her by any means necessary.

They all watched, pressing closer together as the basement door opened and one of their kidnappers came down the stairs.

The person just wasn't who they were expecting.


End file.
